SC asks Mudgal panel if it will extend IPL probe

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Justice Mudgal Committee whether it is willing to further probe former Board of Control for Cricket in India president and Chennai Super Kings owner Narayanaswami Srinivasan and 12 others, including some prominent cricketers, in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

A bench, headed by Justice A K Patnaik, said the committee will be given assistance by investigating agencies if it agrees to extend its probe against 13 people who were named by it in a sealed envelope following the initial investigation into the scandal.

Also read: The Justice Mudgal IPL Probe Committee report

The BCCI also informed the court that it had decided to constitute a three-member panel to further probe the scandal, but the bench said it will pass an order after hearing all the parties and considering the Mudgal committee's reply.

The BCCI’s all-powerful working committee, at its emergent meeting on April 20, had decided to suggest the names of former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri, former Calcutta high court Chief Justice JN Patel and ex-CBI director R K Raghavan as members of its probe committee.

The bench also allowed Srinivasan and the BCCI to hear some portions of the Mudgal committee's interactions with Srinivasan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sundar Raman, Chief Operating Officer of IPL 7.

It asked the probe committee to provide audio recordings to the Supreme Court's secretary-general, who will make arrangements for the BCCI and Srinivasan's counsel to hear the tapes in the apex court.

The court asked the Board and Srinivasan to maintain complete confidentiality of the contents of the audio tapes and not leak it to anybody.

"Any content of the audio recordings going out means cricket would be blackened in the country," the bench said.