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The Chandrachud Report

Editor's note: At this point, Justice Chandrachud repeats the statements made earlier in this report by Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Nayan Mongia, Ajay Jadeja, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ashok Mankar, Chandu Borde, Sandeep Patil, Dr D V Subba Rao, Dr Ali Irani, Sunil Dev, Makarand Waingankar, Aniruddha Bahal, Krishna Prasad, Lokendra Pratap Sahi, R Mohan, S K Sham, Pradeep Vijaykar Pradeep Magazine, and H Natrajan. Since these gentlemen have been quoted, in identical words, elsewhere in the report, we eschew repetition in order to save the reader needless eyestrain. What follows, are the judge's conclusions, tagged on after this voluminous exercise in quoting already quoted testimony.

21. This then is the state of "evidence" before me. Taking all relevant circumstances and the broad probabilities of the case into account, particularly the Indian conditions of which I may be assumed to be intimately aware. I accept without hesitation the statements of Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Nayan Mongia , Ajay jadeja, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev , Ajit Wadekar ,Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Chandu Borde ,Sandeep Patil, D.V.Subba Rao, Dr.Ali Irani , Mukarand Waigankar, Balasaheb J. Pandit , R Mohan ,S.K. Shyam and Pradeep Vijaykar.

22. So far as the other persons whose statements were recorded by me are concerned, who are mostly journalists even they have not been able to identify any particular player or players in the Indian team as being parties to match fixing or who bet on cricket .These journalists ,undoubtedly respectable and unmotivated , have drawn their own inferences on the general situation which now obtains the game of cricket. All of these inferences are not unjustified because I am also inclined to believe that a large amount of betting takes place on cricket in India. That is what the Howrah superintendent of police Mr Purokayastha told me and, more specifically than that , that is what one of the top officials of Bombay police told me over the phone. But even they said that it has not been possible for their investigating teams to identify any player or players in the Indian team who lay bets on cricket.

23. In so far as the involvement of the journalists in betting or match fixing is concerned, there is equally no credible evidence to justify their implication. Fortunately, mobile phones are banned but the press box is fitted with sophisticated gadgets of communication which are capable of being misused. Some journalists have themselves spoken before me of such misuse. One of them has suggested that the entry to the Press Box should be screened properly, a suggestion which I endorse. That may atleast help remove a plausible cause of suspicion in the minds of the general public that there is something rotten in the kingdom of cricket.

24. Accordingly, my answer to question (b), (c) and (e) is that the data before me does not show that any Indian player, official or journalist has ever taken part in match fixing or that any of them lays bets on cricket for the purpose of match fixing so as to lose a match. There is, undoubtedly, large scale betting on cricket but that is law and order problem. Betting, like drinking is a common human weakness since the beginning of the world. One cannot, therefore, rule out the possibility that some Indian players may be laying the flutter of a bet. But, it is less than just to conclude that lay bets for losing a match. Such a charge lacks substance and is unjustified.

25. What remains for consideration is question (d). The question is whether Shri Ajit Wadekar put tap on telephones of Indian cricketers after their return from the South African tour and ,if so, whether such tapping is permissible in law.

26 The answer to the last part of the question is self evident. Tapping of phones by a private individual, be he the manager of the cricket team is illegal. On the question whether Ajit Wadekar tapped the phones, I am inclined to accept the explanation given by him before me, which he seems to have given the Press also. The original fax dictated by him contained the word "tap". Ajit has said in his statement before me that he did not tap the telephone of any player. I consider it hardly likely that a man of such wide and large experience like Ajit Wadekar will indulge in the gimmick of tapping the phones of the players. I answer this question accordingly.

27. Before concluding I must express my thankfulness to the officers and staff of the BCCI who extended the necessary facilties and courtesies to me. But more than that I will be failing in my duty if I did not record my deep appreciation of the cooperation extended to me by the players, the managers and journalists alike. Not one of them who was invited to speak declined to come. Not only that, every one of them showed quite an amount of enthusiasm for making the best use of the oppurtunity afforded to them. It was transparent that they were all actuated by one common objective, namely to save the fair name of the game called cricket. There were just a few specks of dust here and there as they rise from a worn wicket but there was no mud slinging by any one at all. They told me the truth as they honestly perceived it. That is why I must express my special sense of thankfulness to them. It would have been well nigh impossible for me to complete my task without the cooperation of all these gentlemen. I am sure that with all the good intentions of so many well-informed persons, the game of cricket will survive in India and the rumors of match fixing will die a natural death. It wil be a sad day if the common men and women, on whose support the game has occupied a pride of place, will stay away, believing that the bookies, not the chosen eleven, play the game.

Y.V. CHANDRACHUD

Dated: 17th November, 1997.