Outgoing interim chief of BCCI Jagmohan Dalmiya admitted that Bombay High Court's verdict of terming the two-member probe panel "illegal and unconstitutional" has put them in an "embarrassing position."
Indian cricket board's interim president Jagmohan Dalmiya Tuesday conceded that the BCCI was in an embarrassing situation following the Bombay High Court order terming as illegal the board panel that was probing the betting and spot fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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Questioned on the impending crisis that has rocked the cricket board, a perturbed Dalmiya said,"I do not know how big is the crisis is but I can say that it has put us in an embarrassing position. I must have received at least 50 to 80 calls since morning. But I want to say that I am equally in dark."
About the Bombay High Court order, Dalmiya said that he has not received the order. "Nothing has been communicated to us in the last 24 hours. I have just read it in the media reports. My knowledge is as good as yours. I do not know where to go from here, we have to wait and see."u00a0
Quizzed on the next course of action, he replied,"It is a million dollar question."u00a0
Jagmohan Dalmiya has conceded that the BCCI was in an embarrassing situation following the Bombay High Court order terming as illegal the board panel probing the IPL spot-fixing and betting case. Pic/AFP
He was equally non-committal when asked about who will chair the working committee meeting in Delhi on August 2 as N Srinivasan has declared that he will be attending the meeting. "Who will chair August 2 meeting? I myself do not know where is the chair... Let me first understand where do I stand... I do not have any information officially. This however does not mean there is some difference with the BCCI," Dalmiya gave a half-hearted reply.u00a0
Dalmiya's comments came after the Bombay High Court questioned the appointment of the two-member panel comprising retired Tamil Nadu High Court judges T. Jayaram Chouta and R. Balasubramanian.
The panel had absolved IPL franchises Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings of spot fixing charges, besides bigwigs Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan, who are associated with the two teams.
The BCCI earlier suspended Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI president N. Srinivasan, and Rajasthan Royals' part owner Raj Kundra, and asked judges Chouta and Balasubramanian to conduct an internal investigation.
"The entire matter needs to be re-investigated. There was disparity in the evidence collected by the probe panel," the high court said on a public interest writ filed by Naresh Matani who challenged the panel's constitution.
The high court also questioned how the BCCI itself could conduct a probe into the spot fixing scam, and ordered the setting up of a new committee to conduct the investigation.
Dalmiya, who made a return to the top of the BCCI June 2 when Srinivasan agreed to step aside till the pendency of the probe, said the board had adopted a 12-point programme to clean up the game.
"After I took charge on June 2, we took a vow to clean up the game and undertook a 12-point programme, when the working committee met on June 10," he said.
Ever since the high court order Tuesday morning, Dalmiya was engaged in hectic consultations over phone with other BCCI bosses including Srinivasan, trying to decide on the next course of action for a way out of the mess.
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