New Delhi – India's Supreme Court barred world cricket chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan from contesting the election to the country's powerful board until he gives up his stake in the Indian Premier League.
The court found Srinivasan guilty of a conflict of interest for having commercial dealings in the sport while heading the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by owning an IPL franchise.
A two-judge bench struck down a controversial BCCI clause that allows BCCI officials to own IPL teams and have commercial interests.
“The court has given a very important verdict, which describes what the public functions of BCCI are,” former judge Mukul Mudgal, who headed a court-appointed investigation said.
Srinivasan was removed as BCCI president last March after Mudgal's probe found that his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyyappan was involved in betting and match-fixing in the 2013 edition of IPL.
“It is a very important judgment in the field of constitution law and will govern all sports (in India),” Mudgal said.
The Mudgal committee cleared Srinivasan of charges of involvement in betting and match-fixing in November, following which the cricket official had appealed to the court to be reinstated as BCCI chief.
The court directed the BCCI elections be held in six weeks, which means that Srinivasan is not likely to contest the elections, local media reports said. – Sapa-dpa