Opinion - Editorials   

Lifting the match-fixing ban

THE OVERTURNING OF the five-year ban on cricketer Ajay Jadeja reflects the serious flaws in the manner that the match-fixing controversy was handled. While finding there was a lack of proof to establish his guilt, the arbitrator appointed by the Delhi High Court has drawn attention to the procedural flaws that attended the probe into the charges against him. In holding that the probe was one-sided and that it failed to provide Jadeja an opportunity to try and prove his innocence, the arbitrator has upheld one of the cricketer's crucial contentions — namely, that the procedure adopted from inquiry to punishment was a violation of natural justice. Like some other top-ranking Indian cricketers, Jadeja was slapped with a ban by the BCCI after the investigator it appointed, the former CBI officer, K. Madhavan, found him guilty of "unbecoming conduct" on account of his frequent contacts with bookies and punters. The curious thing about the Madhavan inquiry is that it was a limited exercise almost wholly based on the massive and coordinated investigation conducted by the CBI into the match-fixing phenomenon. And this investigation ended with the CBI's conclusion that no offence could be made out against the cricketers. Such a conclusion was drawn partly because it was impossible to establish a legally sustainable financial trail between cricketer and bookmaker. And partly because, it was totally unclear what legal provision could be pressed in this case (however objectionable it seems, throwing a cricket match is not a crime under the Indian Penal Code).

Conducted in a blaze of publicity, the Madhavan inquiry was essentially an exercise that comprised a further interrogation of the cricketers based on the evidence collected by the CBI's preliminary enquiry. Mr. Madhavan made it clear that his probe was analogous to a departmental inquiry and that he was concerned with a level of proof that was lower than the rigorous standards required in criminal cases. But what was at issue is the methodology that was followed, leading to questions such as why those indicted were not allowed the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and why they were not supplied with the allegedly incriminating documents. Questions such as these formed the basis of Jadeja's civil writ petition challenging the BCCI's imposition of a ban on him. Initially, the BCCI took a strong position against Jadeja, arguing that there "was a plethora of evidence against him". But late last year, the BCCI — which had meanwhile seen a change of guard at the helm and also it appears a change of perception — softened its position by agreeing with Jadeja to settle the issue through arbitration.

For a man who nurses the desire to resume playing cricket for India, arbitration was the only possible hope. The Delhi High Court's order that the arbitrator settle the matter as far as possible within two months helped to further expedite matters. For Mohammed Azharuddin, Justice (retd.) J.K. Mehra's decision must come as a ray of hope. The charges against the former Indian Captain, who was slapped with a lifetime ban, were of a very similar nature and the Delhi ruling is likely to be used to substantiate his challenge of the ban in a Hyderabad court. The full truth about why men such as Jadeja and Azharuddin maintained contacts with bookies and punters may never be known and the misgivings about this may never vanish altogether. But this is quite unrelated to the unsatisfactory manner in which the whole match-fixing investigation was conducted. First, by handing it over to a reluctant CBI, which knew all along that no legally sustainable case could be framed against the cricketers. And second, by constituting another inquiry, which indicted cricketers on the basis of the CBI inquiry that specified no charges against them and that has now been held as being unfair and procedurally flawed.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• A disturbing report
• Lifting the match-fixing ban
• Dialogue among civilisations
• The long march to another world - I
• New warmth in Indo-Iran ties
• Forward-looking approach to China
• Welcome the decision
• Blatant discrimination
• Quake victims
• Retrograde step
• Timely eye-opener
• `Married to economics'

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu