Today, On 22nd April, The Supreme Court said that cricket match-fixing can badly affect the country’s economy. It also showed interest in examining the 2019 Karnataka Premier League T20 match-fixing case more closely.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court highlighted the significant financial impact of cricket match-fixing on the nation’s economy as it agreed to further investigate the 2019 T20 Karnataka Premier League scandal.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh appointed advocate Shivam Singh as amicus curiae to assist in a plea filed by the Karnataka Police challenging a January 10, 2022 order from the high court.
The bench remarked,
“We are keen to go deeper into the issue. It has a very serious ramification in the economy. Today, we don’t want to observe anything which would look like we are pre-judging the issue. But this kind of betting has very serious financial ramifications on the economy,”
Justice Kant noted that the Karnataka government’s appeal, filed in 2022, has only now reached the court after three years.
The judge expressed,
“Where has this matter disappeared? For three years it was not listed. Tell us who was waiting for my retirement,”
The court subsequently ordered that the case not be removed from the cause-list after four weeks and requested an explanation from the registry for the delay in listing the matter.
Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Centre, stated that match-fixing is harmful to the sports community.
The bench instructed advocate Singh to assist, recognizing his expertise in sports law and his authorship of a related book.
Justice Kant noted,
“You can assist us in the matter. It is simple 419 IPC or 420 IPC or something more. The state will have their own viewpoint, but we want a neutral person like in sports we have an umpire,”
The judge recounted a bail case involving an individual who was drawn into betting and lost everything, stating,
“He has virtually become a beggar and is inside the jail. Whole family is now in crisis. They were leading a good life and now completely destroyed.”
Emphasizing the “ramifications and implications,” the court appointed the amicus curiae and ordered,
“Registry is directed to provide him complete records and the counter affidavit filed by UOI.”
The Supreme Court issued a notice regarding the case, on September 30, 2022.
The high court had previously ruled on January 10, 2022, that the match-fixing incidents uncovered by the Bengaluru crime branch in 2019 during an investigation into corruption involving cricket players and team management in the Karnataka Premier League T20 tournament did not constitute cheating, leading to the quashing of the chargesheet against three players and a team official.
This chargesheet included several accused, such as former Karnataka cricket captain C.M. Gautam, along with players Abrar Kazi and Amit Mavi, and Belagavi Panthers team owner Asfak Ali Thara.