HC: Can we stall IPL due to fears over betting?

CHENNAI: With just two days to go for this season’s IPL game in Chennai, an IPS officer who first probed

betting

and match fixing allegations on the IPL circuit — before he himself became an accused in a connected case — has moved Madras high court to stall the tournament. G Sampathkumar, who is now back in service after prolonged suspension, has requested the high court to restrain BCCI from conducting the season-11 of IPL in the absence of preventive measures and system to prevent match fixing and betting. The first match here is to be played on April 7.

The first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice A Selvam, before which the matter came up for admission on Wednesday, directed Union home ministry and BCCI to file their response to the plea by April 13. “Though the apprehensions raised by the petitioner are bona fide, we wonder how the game could be stalled just because there was the possibility of match fixing and other offences,” wondered the bench.

Sampathkumar submitted that his intention was not to stall the game, and agreed to amend the prayer. Pointing out that even after the 2013 betting

scam

no deterrent or transparent preventive measures were brought in by BCCI, the petitioner said that the issue involved national security. Agreeing with the submissions, the bench asked the petitioner the measures he would suggest to check such offences. “We have laws, including the

Prevention of Corruption Act

,

1988

, to prevent corruption. But can we say that corruption does not exist in society?” the bench asked. The scope of installing monitoring devices is limited, as such equipment can only be put up in public. But such offences seldom happen in public, the court added. Sampathkumar said as an investigating officer he was instrumental in exposing spot fixing and betting in IPL matches in 2013.


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