Looking for escape route
A day after the Indian board was sent into a tizzy, in the wake of the Bombay high court ruling that its two-member spot-fixing inquiry panel was “illegal”, its senior officials were still weighing options on Saturday to tide over the crisis.
A day after the Indian board was sent into a tizzy, in the wake of the Bombay high court ruling that its two-member spot-fixing inquiry panel was “illegal”, its senior officials were still weighing options on Saturday to tide over the crisis.
After BCCI president N Srinivasan was persuaded to stay away from playing an active role until the probe panel issue is sorted, all eyes continue to be on Arun Jaitley and Rajeev Shukla. Friday’s cancelling of the working committee meeting showed the support for Srinivasan was waning. Much will depend on Jaitely’s legal expertise, having, along with Rajeev Shukla and interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, convinced Srinivasan to keep away from playing an active role with revolt brewing against him.
Few options
The interim president, secretary (Sanjay Patel) and treasurer (Ravi Savant) also cannot stay on for long and a special general body meeting needs to ratify the decision.
The BCCI could file the Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court as early as Monday, to challenge the Bombay HC order. “The situation is unique with so many interim officials who have little or no say at all,” said an insider. “Srinivasan has been cornered and it’ll be difficult for him to come back.”
However, there is concern in Srinivasan’s camp that if the Supreme Court does not grant a stay on the HC order, it could effectively force his ouster. “The possibility of a new panel was also discussed on Friday and the BCCI may think of including Savant, Ravi Shastri or anyone else. Or they may simply let Supreme Court suggest a panel,” said a source.
“Even if the SC grants interim relief, the issue will crop up later. So, it is necessary the loopholes that the HC verdict exposed is addressed, or a separate panel is constituted.”