Charges against cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan have been dropped after a hearing on the framing of charges in the IPL spot-fixing case in Delhi High Court. The court discharged all 36 accused who were arrested by police saying there was no evidence against them. All accused present in the courtroom appeared relieved after the court’s order.
High Court Relieves Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan of all Charges
Sreesanth broke down and said he was happy to have finally got justice. Earlier, media reports suggested that the Delhi Police told the court that their investigation was upheld by the Supreme Court — and demanded the filing of fresh charges after they went through the Mudgal and Lodha panel findings. However, the court categorically stated that the three players be discharged. The three cricketers were arrested in May-June 2013 for their alleged involvement in betting and spot-fixing during the Indian Premier League.
The BCCI banned Sreesanth and Chavan for life in September 2013, while Chandila’s case is pending before the board’s disciplinary committee. The formal set of charges, running into 6,000 pages, named Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan, among other accused, in the scandal related to the IPL six held in 2013. The accused were charge sheeted for offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and under provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
After the court’s decision, Ajit Chandila said the phase subsequent to the spot-fixing scandal was “the worst of my life”. The cricketer articulated relief at the court’s verdict. S Sreesanth also expressed satisfaction at the verdict and said: “I’m very, very happy. I want to thank God. I will try to start training properly as soon as possible, I wasn’t allowed anything. Hopefully I can get permission from BCCI to use their facilities so that I can get fit and come into the selection process.”
Earlier on July 14, a Supreme Court-appointed panel headed by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years each due to betting. Team owners Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai) and Raj Kundra (Rajasthan) were also banned for life from cricketing activities in India by the panel.
