NEW DELHI: Senior IPS officer M A Ganapathy, the then CBI superintendant of police who interrogated Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and others during the agency's inquiry into the match-fixing racket in 2000, on Friday said the cricketers had escaped criminal charges 13 years ago as there were no formal contracts between them and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for fair play.
"The IPL trio arrested by Delhi Police may certainly not get such benefit as they might have entered into some specific contract with their franchise (Rajasthan Royals)," Ganapathy told TOI.
He said progress in the case, however, would depend on the particular franchise's cooperation with Delhi Police.
Ganapathy, who is serving as joint secretary (Naxal management) in the home ministry, said the IPL franchise had to give its testimony in court if it wanted the three players to be punished under Section 420 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for their alleged role in spot-fixing.
Asked why former cricketers like Azharuddin, who is a Congress MP in Lok Sabha, and others were not charged in 2000, Ganapathy said they benefited as there was no law to deal with match-fixing in the absence of formal contracts between the players and BCCI.
He said the CBI's inquiry report had noted this lacuna and BCCI made changes in its statute, making it illegal for any player to indulge in such practices under specific clauses in their playing contracts. The violation now makes it possible for law enforcement agencies to book the players for cheating or criminal breach of trust.
In 2000, Delhi Police had unearthed a match-fixing scandal involving a number of South African players. CBI probed the case and charged Azharuddin with match-fixing. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma and former Indian team physio Ali Irani were charged with having links with bookies.
The BCCI had slapped a life ban on Azharuddin and ruled Jadeja out of international cricket for five years. Sharma was also banned for life while Prabhakar and Irani were barred from holding any official post in Indian cricket for five years. However, Jadeja's ban was revoked by Delhi high court in January 2003 and he was allowed to play domestic cricket in May 2003...................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA1LzE4I0FyMDEzMDU=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
"The IPL trio arrested by Delhi Police may certainly not get such benefit as they might have entered into some specific contract with their franchise (Rajasthan Royals)," Ganapathy told TOI.
He said progress in the case, however, would depend on the particular franchise's cooperation with Delhi Police.
Ganapathy, who is serving as joint secretary (Naxal management) in the home ministry, said the IPL franchise had to give its testimony in court if it wanted the three players to be punished under Section 420 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for their alleged role in spot-fixing.
Asked why former cricketers like Azharuddin, who is a Congress MP in Lok Sabha, and others were not charged in 2000, Ganapathy said they benefited as there was no law to deal with match-fixing in the absence of formal contracts between the players and BCCI.
He said the CBI's inquiry report had noted this lacuna and BCCI made changes in its statute, making it illegal for any player to indulge in such practices under specific clauses in their playing contracts. The violation now makes it possible for law enforcement agencies to book the players for cheating or criminal breach of trust.
In 2000, Delhi Police had unearthed a match-fixing scandal involving a number of South African players. CBI probed the case and charged Azharuddin with match-fixing. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma and former Indian team physio Ali Irani were charged with having links with bookies.
The BCCI had slapped a life ban on Azharuddin and ruled Jadeja out of international cricket for five years. Sharma was also banned for life while Prabhakar and Irani were barred from holding any official post in Indian cricket for five years. However, Jadeja's ban was revoked by Delhi high court in January 2003 and he was allowed to play domestic cricket in May 2003...................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA1LzE4I0FyMDEzMDU=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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