S Sreesanth pleaded that the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI is too harsh before the Supreme Court. He said he has suffered for four years now and has been acquitted by a Delhi court in the sensational 2013 spot fixing case in 2015.
He said that when life ban on cricketer turned politician Mohammad Azharuddin, who was accused for his involvement in match fixing scandal of 2000, can be reversed then why can’t his life ban imposed by BCCI can be set aside.
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Sreesanth said that the cricketer is now 35 years of age and if the ban is not revoked, he will not be able to play club cricket in the United Kingdom for which he has two-three offers.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Ajay Rastogi noted that appeal against the 2015 order of trial court is pending before the Delhi High Court and the hearing is scheduled in the second week of January.
“We will hear the matter in third week of January,” the bench said, while adjourning the matter.
The Delhi Police had arrested Sreesanth, along with cricketers Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, and others on charges of spot fixing during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2013.
As many as 36 accused in the spot-fixing case, including Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila, were let-off by a Patiala House court in July, 2015. The Delhi Police had later challenged the decision in the Delhi High Court.
Sreesanth has challenged in the apex court the decision of a division bench of the Kerala High Court restoring the ban imposed on him by the BCCI.
The apex court had February 5 sought response from the BCCI and two members of the committee, which had recommended the life ban on Sreesanth.
A single-judge bench of the Kerala High Court had August 7 last year lifted the life ban imposed on 34-year-old Sreesanth by the BCCI and set aside all proceedings against him initiated by the board.
Agencies