The Kerala High Court today issued notice to the BCCI on a plea filed by tainted Indian cricketer S Sreesanth, challenging the life ban imposed on him by the disciplinary committee of the cricket body.
Admitting the petition by the player, seeking a direction to BCCI to allow him to play for a Scottish club in April, Justice P V Asha directed the Union government and the BCCI to file their counter affidavits. Sreesanth had submitted that even the trial court which heard the match-fixing case observed that "no prima facie case in any offence, including Section 3 of MCOCA, is made out against the accused persons and they are entitled to be discharged."
All the 36 accused, including Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were discharged in the IPL-6 spot-fixing case by Patiala House Court in July 2015. The BCCI, however, refused to alter its disciplinary decision even after the verdict. In his petition, Sreesanth argued that the BCCI panel which enquired into the matter had made its reports against him based on the information provided by Delhi Police.
He alleged that "the entire prosecution case framed out by the Delhi Police Special Cell" against him was based on a "cooked-up story created according to their aspirations and imaginations". Sreesanth said he was invited by Glenrothes Cricket Club, Fife Scotland, for representing Glenroth Team (Premier League in Scotland) to be held in the first week of April. In response to this invitation, he expressed willingness to participate in the match, provided he got the NOC from the Board, Sreesanth said in his petition.
