• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Cricket tribunal

S. Madhavan, e-mail

This refers to "Punishment without appeal?"(Business Line, November 28). The authors point of view is absolutely tenable, and is in consonance with principles of jurisprudence. While the match referee, Mr Mike Denness, erred on two counts punishing play ers without proper inquiry, and punishing the captain which tantamounts to two punishments for the same crime the BCCIs attitude appears to be based more on emotions than on understanding of the issue.Instead of threatening to call off the tour and dump ing Mr Denness, the BCCI should have made efforts to postpone the third test to buy time to find an amicable solution to the problem.

Apart from the problem of right to appeal, one more legal tangle that requires attention is proportionate punishment. Generally, in cases of petty offences, first-time offenders are given leniency in terms of punishment.

But in Mr Virender Sehwags case, this principle was thrown to the winds and he was punished severely. In this regard, the authors suggestion for a cricket tribunal is welcome.