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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Should PM Modi expedite the passage of the sports fraud Bill?
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Should PM Modi expedite the passage of the sports fraud Bill?

The quick passage of the sports fraud Bill in Parliament is the only answer to the menace of corruption in cricket

The sports fraud Bill prescribes a maximum punishment of imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rs10 lakh or five times the economic benefits derived by the person from sporting fraud, whichever is greater. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
The sports fraud Bill prescribes a maximum punishment of imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rs10 lakh or five times the economic benefits derived by the person from sporting fraud, whichever is greater. Photo: Hindustan Times

Earlier this month, in his address to the Australian parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to refer to two cricketers who have been widely perceived as the cleanest of their respective generations in addition to being the finest practitioners of the art of batting.

“We celebrate the legend of Bradman and the class of Tendulkar together," said Prime Minister Modi.

The Prime Minister’s approach seemed faultless as there is no better way to woo parliamentarians of a sports-crazy country like Australia than with a reference to their all-time sporting and cultural icon Sir Donald Bradman. Even the reference to the modern master Sachin Tendulkar is not out of place as the Indian icon was personally chosen by Bradman as the man who reminded him most of his own batting style.

In more recent events in the PM’s own backyard, the Supreme Court—while conducting hearings on the findings of the Mudgal committee set up by the court to investigate the corruption scandal that engulfed the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2013—made a scathing observation on 27 November as to why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not disqualify the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

BCCI owns the IPL. The Supreme Court set up the three-member committee, headed by former high court judge Mukul Mudgal to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against CSK team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, CSK team owner India Cements Ltd, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd.

The apex court’s observation raises an important question: Should Prime Minister Modi— who leads a single-party majority government—lead by example and, for the sake of clean cricket, expedite the passage of the Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill of 2013?

According to Desh Gaurav Sekhri, one of the country’s first dedicated sports attorneys, quick passage of the Bill in Parliament is the only panacea for the menace of corruption in cricket seen during IPL 2013.

“Supreme Court’s hands are tied while hearing the Mudgal committee report," said Delhi-based Sekhri, who heads the sports law practice at J. Sagar Associates. “Firstly, the genesis of the Mudgal committee report is a public interest litigation (PIL) by Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) and, therefore, the honourable court cannot establish criminality. Secondly, the court has no adequate legal framework to order punitive action even if individuals are found guilty of impropriety. The passing of the Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill, or the sports fraud Bill, will redress this situation," he said.

According to him, the Bill may have its faultlines but it needs to become law by the start of the 2015 edition of IPL to prevent the erosion of credibility of the event.

The sports fraud Bill— which was the brainchild of Ajay Maken, sports minister in the United Progressive Alliance government—prescribes a maximum punishment of imprisonment for five years and a fine of 10 lakh or five times the economic benefits derived by the person from sporting fraud, whichever is greater.

According to the Bill, a sporting fraud is committed when a player directly or indirectly “manipulates or tries to manipulate result, irrespective of whether the outcome is actually altered or not, or deliberately misapplies the rules of the sport". The Bill also brings officials of governing bodies under its purview by including “failure to disclose knowledge of or attempt for sporting fraud" in its definition of sporting corruption.

Does it mean that the ongoing hearing on the Mudgal committee report by a special bench of the Supreme Court comprising judges T.S. Thakur and F.M. Kalifullah is a pointless exercise? Far from it, said Sekhri. “The court, if convinced about impropriety on the part of certain individuals or franchises, could come up with observations or even an order in an extreme case which could potentially hurt and embarrass the BCCI. The Court could even come up with a broader critique of the structural connection of the BCCI with the IPL," he explained.

In an ideal world, any adverse order by the apex court could provide sufficient grounds for BCCI to invoke the termination Clause (11.3 c) of its franchise agreement with IPL. According to the clause, the agreement between BCCI and IPL can be terminated if “the franchise, any franchise group company and/or any owner acts in any way which has a material adverse effect upon the reputation or standing of the league, BCCI-IPL, BCCI, the franchise, the team (or any other team in the league) and/or the game of cricket".

However, should there be any adverse court order at the conclusion of the ongoing hearings, it remains to be seen if BCCI would come down harshly on a competition that is a goose laying golden eggs. “After the start of IPL in 2008, state associations get as much as 30 crore annually. Many of these associations are personal fiefdoms and the BCCI needs to appease them to get their votes. So, nobody in the BCCI would want to be known as the one taking the extreme step of temporarily suspending or terminating the league," said a former BCCI member who did not want to be named.

The fact that IPL is part of BCCI, and not a separate legal entity, also does not help matters. “This is the core of the conflict of interest, which is an issue that the Mudgal committee report has raised while investigating the IPL spot-fixing saga. If the court finds that any franchise or individuals have not followed propriety, and if the BCCI has not acted promptly, there is every chance that it could ask for a review of the BCCI’s relationship with the IPL," said Sekhri.

Successive BCCI administrators have turned a blind eye towards the conflict of interest issue which primarily arose because of the nature of IPL’s structural ties with the parent body.

Another layer was imposed on the structural conflict of interest-based relationship between the board and the commercial league before IPL’s first edition in 2008. Then BCCI president Sharad Pawar amended clause 6.2.4 of the board’s constitution to allow then secretary, N. Srinivasan, to be involved as an IPL franchise owner through India Cements of which he is managing director.

Sekhri said that an adverse order from the Supreme Court after hearings based on the findings in the Mudgal committee report could have negative ramifications for BCCI in another ongoing litigation where the body has opposed the move of the then central government to bring it under the National Sports Development Bill (the sports Bill) of 2013. The Madras high court has issued a stay on it.

The sports Bill proposes to make it mandatory for all national sports federations accredited by the government to comply with two of its chapters, IV and IX. These chapters pertain to compliance with ethical practices in sport and the Right to Information (RTI) Act, respectively.

“Should the apex court come up with a negative order or even a few adverse observations while conducting hearings on the findings of the Mudgal committee report, it could potentially have a repercussion on the ongoing litigation concerning the sports Bill," said Sekhri. “That could be more worrying for the board than any potential negative order of the Supreme Court based on the Mudgal committee report."

Not long ago, Prime Minister Modi was president of the Gujarat Cricket Association, a position he relinquished in May this year before being sworn into his current job. One hopes he plays a role in creating a modern law to tackle the menace of corruption in sport and be remembered by India’s cricket lovers as the leader who well and truly admired Bradman and Tendulkar.

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Published: 29 Nov 2014, 01:23 AM IST
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