The fact that both the judges spent most of their careers on the bench in the Madras High Court has also raised some eyebrows, with one senior IPL member asking, "Is there only one state in the country with retired HC judges?" before pointing out that both India Cements and Chennai Super Kings have their headquarters in Tamil Nadu.
Officially, the panel was appointed by the IPL operations committee. However, there is speculation within the IPL that their names were recommended by PS Raman, who has been the BCCI's preferred senior counsel ever since N Srinivasan became the board's president.
Interestingly, Raman, is also the lawyer of Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI president N Srinivasan. Raman, a former advocate-general of Tamil Nadu, had accompanied Meiyappan on the flight from Madurai to Mumbai when the latter was summoned by the crime branch for questioning just before his arrest on charges of being involved in betting and match fixing.
Other lawyers have questioned the propriety of a designated senior counsel like Raman directly dealing with a client, given that there is a clear legal bar against such practices.
D Selvam, chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said it was a violation of ethics and an actionable offence under Section 35(1) of the Advocates Act for a designated senior advocate to deal with a client directly.
Meanwhile, Justice T J Chouta, one of the three commission members, told TOI the panel was still waiting for the terms of reference to get down to business.
He said he was confident of doing a fair job along with Justice R Balasubramanian, who had earned the sobriquet of 'acquittal judge' during his Madras HC stint.
Asked about the possibility of interference in the functioning of the commission, Justice Chouta said, "I have years of legal experience behind me and have dealt with the work of many such commissions.
No one has dared to interfere in my work and I will not allow it to happen now either." He said the commission could carry on its work either from Mumbai or Chennai, as mutually decided by the members.
BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale is the third member of the commission.
WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS
Conflict of interest doesn't seem to bother top administrators and players involved in Indian cricket. Here's a list of such instances in the present and the past:
N Srinivasan:
The BCCI president is also the managing director of India Cements. The company owns Chennai Super Kings. His son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is the Team Principal of CSK. Srinivasan has reportedly also been involved in the selection of probe members to look into the alleged illegalities of his son-in-law. Five members (captain MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina) of the 15-member Indian team for Champion's Trophy also play for CSK.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
India's cricket captain is also the captain of CSK and a vice president of India Cements. His megabuck endorsement deals are handled by Rhiti Sports, a company founded by an "old friend", Arun Pandey. The celebrity client lists of Rhiti Sports also include Raina and Jadeja, both CSK players. Also in the list is RP Singh. The company also manages CSK, according to its own website.
K Srikkanth:
During his days as BCCI chief selector, Srikkanth was also a brand ambassador for CSK. His son Anirudha Srikkanth plays for CSK and was selected for India 'A'
Ravi Shastri:
He had signed a handsome contract with the IPL governing council while at the same giving television commentary for which he was paid extra by the BCCI
Sunil Gavaskar:
Like Shastri, He had signed a handsome contract with the IPL governing council while at the same giving television commentary for which he was paid extra by the BCCI
Court extends Guru remand to May 31
A Mumbai court extended the police custody of Gurunath Meiyappan till May 31 after the cops said they wanted to confront him and actor Vindu with a Chennai hotelier, also suspected of involvement in the case.
Cops on trail of big-time bookie
The Bangalore Police on Wednesday said they were on the trail of two 'big-time' bookies. Prime suspect and bookie Fighter Ravi, 41, landed in Sri Lanka in May first week before going underground.
Sreesanth spends sleepless night in jail
Sacked Rajasthan Royals player S Sreesanth spent a sleepless first night in a small cell in Tihar jail, but ate "dal-chawal" with other prisoners, jail officials said. Sreesanth shared the cell with two other undertrials.
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