Mudgal Committee to probe allegations in sealed envelope

In a blow to the BCCI, the Supreme Court has asked the Justice Mukul Mudgal committee to investigate the allegations contained in the sealed envelope that the committee had submitted to the court back in February. The envelope is reported to contain 13 names, including that of BCCI president N Srinivasan, and a number of top cricketers and officials. According to a DNA story earlier this month, three of the cricketers named belong to Chennai Super Kings, two to Delhi Daredevils and two others to Mumbai Indians. The BCCI has opposed the appointment of the Mudgal committee to investigate the new allegations, saying it wanted a completely new panel drawn up to prevent bias after the Mudgal committee’s findings contradicted the testimony given by Srinivasan, MS Dhoni and other India Cements employees. This time around, the court has strengthened the committee by giving it the power to search and seize relevant documents and record evidence. The committee will also be assisted by a group of investigators led by senior IPS officer BB Mishra. It must conclude its investigation and submit a sealed report to the court by the end of August. The BCCI’s annual general elections take place at the end of September. [caption id=“attachment_1527387” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  N Srinivasan is finally the subject of an investigation. PTI[/caption] The next hearing of the case is slated for September. In the interim, the court said Srinivasan will remain suspended as BCCI president, with Sunil Gavaskar and Shivlal Yadav continuing as interim BCCI presidents. Gavaskar is in charge of the IPL while Yadav is in charge of the rest of the BCCI’s functions. Justice Mudgal and Mishra will be given the services of one senior police officer each from Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, which Mudgal had requested in the last hearing on the case in April. A former cricketer “of repute and integrity”, will also be picked by Mudgal and Mishra to be part of the investigation. According to ESPNcricinfo, All those working on the investigation will be paid Rs 1 lakh per working day, with all expenses to be borne by the BCCI. By way of explaining why the same panel had been tasked with the new investigation, Justice AK Patnaik said it preferable that no new eyes see the names in the envelope in order to safeguard the reputations of the 13 names involved. If the names were released, the reputations of “very famous people will be damaged beyond repair”, the justice said. The Mudgal committee was originally set up in October 2013 by the Supreme Court to investigate allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the 2013 IPL. It was tasked with investigating Gurunath Meiyappan, N Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Chennai Super Kings, Raj Kundra, one of the co-owners of the Rajasthan Royals, and Rajasthan Royals franchise. The committee submitted its report in February this year. During the course of its investigation, it unearthed several other allegations that went beyond its brief. The committee therefore decided to submit a sealed envelope for the Supreme Court‘s eyes only with the names of 13 people who, the committee said, should be further investigated. It is that investigation they will now conduct.