Supreme Court of India calls on cricket board chief Narainswamy Srinivasan to step down amid investigation into IPL match-fixing

Srinivasan son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was indicted last month on charges of betting and passing information to illegal bookmakers and the Supreme Court has made the call in order to ensure a fair investigation

Narainswamy Srinivasan (Getty Images)

The Supreme Court of India called on Indian cricket board chief Narainswamy Srinivasan to step down from his post Tuesday to ensure a fair investigation into charges of match-fixing in the Indian Premier League.

Srinivasan's son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was indicted last month on charges of betting and passing on information to illegal bookmakers by a committee investigating match-fixing in the IPL.

Supreme Court Justice A. K. Patnaik said if Srinivasan does not step down voluntarily from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the court will order his removal.

"Why is Srinivasan sticking to his chair? If you don't step down, then we will pass an order," Patnaik said.

The court will reconvene in two days.

As well as heading the BCCI, Srinivasan is chairman-designate of cricket world governing body the International Cricket Council.

The IPL fixing controversy erupted last year after several cricketers, including test paceman Shantakumaran Sreesanth, were arrested by Indian police for allegedly giving away a minimum number of runs in exchange for money from bookies.

Srinivasan's position on the BCCI has been considered untenable since a three-member committee headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal found Chennai Super Kings team principal Meiyappan guilty of being in touch with illegal bookmakers in its report forwarded to the Supreme Court.

The finding came after the Bombay High Court last year referred to the two-member BCCI panel that initially cleared Meiyappan of his charges as "illegal and unconstitutional."

Srinivasan said that Meiyappan was "just a cricket enthusiast" even though he was seen regularly at players' auctions and in the team dugout.

Meiyappan spent two weeks in jail last year before being granted bail.

AP