Kerala High Court restores life ban on Sreesanth

The Kerala High Court on October 17 restored life ban imposed on cricketer S. Sreesanth by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

The order came on an appeal filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India CEO against a single-judge verdict revoking the life ban imposed on the cricketer in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal. The appeal was filed by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Navniti Prasad Singh ruled that the court could not conduct a judicial review of the life ban imposed by the BCCI, and hence upheld the appeal. The court heard the appeal petition over the past two days and delivered its verdict that, for the time being, ends Sreesanth’s hopes of playing not just for the Kerala Ranji side in its upcoming matches but also taking part in practice sessions at any place that comes under the aegis of the BCCI or any State cricket association.

The single-judge Bench of the High Court had, on August 7, quashed the BCCI decision to impose a life ban on the cricketer in the wake of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

The BCCI pointed out in its appeal that the single judge had erred in quashing the decision of the disciplinary committee after complete “reappraisal of evidence” and holding that Mr. Sreesanth was not guilty of match-fixing. This was contrary to the settled position of law that a High Court, while exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226, could not “reappraise the evidence” collected during the inquiry or substitute its own finding with the disciplinary authority’s findings. The High Court could only determine whether the inquiry was held by a competent authority in accordance with the procedure prescribed and/or whether the principles of natural justice were adhered to.

Speaking to the media, Kerala Cricket Association secretary Jayesh George said the association was supporting Mr. Sreesanth ever since the ban was lifted. “We had made arrangements for him to undergo a full fitness test so as to make him match-fit. Now […] we will have to respect [the verdict],” said Mr. George.

Now, the only option before Mr. Sreesanth is to approach the apex court and, according to sources close to the bowler, he is likely to go in appeal against this verdict.

In 2015, the now 34-year-old pacer along with two other players got exonerated by a Delhi court in the case registered by Delhi Police which had invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), but the BCCI Disciplinary Committee headed by the present Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had slapped a life ban on Mr. Sreesanth.