Court acquits Sreesanth, Chavan, Chandila & 33 others

All the 36 accused persons including former India capped cricketer S Sreesanth were discharged in the IPL-6 spot fixing case by a Delhi court on Saturday.

Other two prominent IPL players — Ajit Chandila andAnkeet Chavan — who were on bail were also discharged in the case in which six persons including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel were declared proclaimed offenders.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that its action is independent of court verdict and it will not revoke <g data-gr-id="126">ban</g> on the trio despite. “All are discharged (from the case),” Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna said while pronouncing the order. 

The case was on Saturday put for order on framing of charges against the 36 accused persons who were on bail.

Sreesanth, 32, broke down on hearing the order while the other accused including the players present in the courtroom started hugging each other. Sreesanth said at last justice has been done to him, adding: “God willing, I will be able to return to cricket. I have no regrets, no complaints.”

The court had on May 23 reserved the order on framing of charges in the case.

Special Cell of Delhi Police had named 42 accused in the case in its charge-sheet out of whom six are absconding.

Police had told the court that properties of Dawood and Shakeel in Mumbai have already been attached in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and that they have not visited India since 1993.

Police had informed the court that Dawood had properties in his name at Dongri in Mumbai whereas Shakeel owned properties in Nagpada there.

The court had earlier issued non-bailable warrants against Dawood and Shakeel, Pakistan-based Javed Chutani, Salman alias Master and Ehteysham, who all are considered to be Dawood’s associates. The police had filed a 6,000-page charge-sheet against various accused in the case. It 

had also filed supplementary <g data-gr-id="123">charge-sheets</g> later on. The court had granted bail to Sreesanth, Chavan and <g data-gr-id="124">otheraccused</g> for lack of evidence against them under the provisions of stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (<g data-gr-id="125">MCOCA</g>).

Other accused, including Chandila, were also granted bail later on by the court.

The police, in its charge-sheet, had claimed that Dawood and Shakeel, who have been “controlling the fixing and betting market” in cricket in India, were behind IPL spot-fixing.