Lodha Verdict-2013 IPL scandal

The Indian Premier League began in 2008. It soon became the biggest cricket show in the country. In 2013, a scandal shook it. Police arrested players, and fans began to ask hard questions about trust. This article explains the case in plain words. It then covers the Lodha verdict of 14 July 2015, which handed out the final punishments.

The facts come from news reports and court coverage in The Hindu, ESPNcricinfo, Rediff and Wikipedia. Where sources differ, I say so. This is a history piece about a sports scandal. It does not encourage betting in any way.

What Happened in May 2013

On 16 May 2013, Delhi Police arrested three cricketers. They were S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan. All three played for the Rajasthan Royals. The charge was spot-fixing.

Spot-fixing is not the same as fixing a whole match. A player agrees to do one small thing on the field for money. It could be giving away a set number of runs in an over. The match result may not change. Still, it is cheating, and it breaks the trust of fans.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, suspended the players. The Rajasthan Royals also suspended their contracts. Police later arrested more people, including bookies. A bookie is a person who takes bets on matches.

The Mumbai Case and Two Big Names

A second case began in Mumbai. Mumbai Police arrested the actor Vindu Dara Singh on 21 May 2013. Call records then led them to Gurunath Meiyappan. He was the team principal of the Chennai Super Kings, or CSK. He was also the son-in-law of N. Srinivasan, the BCCI president at that time.

Meiyappan was arrested on 24 May 2013 on charges of betting, conspiracy and cheating. CSK put out a statement the same day that it did not stand by him. The BCCI suspended him two days later. He got bail in June 2013.

Raj Kundra was a co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals. Delhi Police questioned him in June 2013 about alleged betting. The BCCI suspended him from the IPL on 10 June 2013.

The First BCCI Inquiry Falls Apart

The BCCI named a two-member panel of retired judges to look into the matter. The judges were T. Jayaram Chouta and R. Balasubramanian. On 30 July 2013, the Bombay High Court ruled that this panel was illegal. It said the panel did not follow the IPL’s own rules. That left the board’s inquiry on weak ground.

The Supreme Court Steps In

The matter then reached the Supreme Court. In October 2013, the court set up a three-member committee led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, a retired High Court judge. The other members were L. Nageswara Rao and Nilay Dutta.

The Mudgal committee gave its report in February 2014. It found Meiyappan guilty of breaking the IPL anti-corruption code. It also found that he had bet heavily on IPL matches. Court coverage said the report named N. Srinivasan and 12 cricketers as well.

On 25 March 2014, the court told Srinivasan to step down as BCCI president while the probe went on. It called it “nauseating” that he stayed in the post. Srinivasan stepped aside. The former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was put in charge of IPL matters for that season.

The main judgment came on 22 January 2015. The court held that Meiyappan and Kundra were team officials. It found both guilty of betting. Then it set up one more committee to decide their punishment. Its members were R. M. Lodha, a former Chief Justice of India, and two former Supreme Court judges, Ashok Bhan and R. V. Raveendran.

The Lodha Verdict of 14 July 2015

The committee read out its order in New Delhi on 14 July 2015. The main points were these:

• Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra were suspended for life from any involvement in cricket matches run by the BCCI.
• Both were also declared ineligible for five years under the anti-corruption code, which was the maximum.
• India Cements, which owned the Chennai Super Kings, was suspended from the league for two years.
• Jaipur IPL, which owned the Rajasthan Royals, was suspended for two years as well.
• The suspensions began from the date of the order.

Justice Lodha said the spirit of cricket is larger than any person, any team or any money loss. The committee refused to accept that the acts were only personal. It said the two companies were responsible for their officials. It noted that Meiyappan was seen as the “face of the owner”. It also noted that Kundra was a part owner.

On Kundra, the committee rejected his defence. He had argued that he was a UK citizen and did not know betting was illegal in India. The committee wrote that betting is a crime under the Indian Penal Code and also breaks BCCI rules.

On Meiyappan, it said he had done “huge injury” to the image of the game. The judgment also said he lost Rs 60 lakh in betting. Kundra said on Twitter that the order had “many inaccuracies”. He said he was shocked and disappointed.

What Happened to the Teams

The order meant that CSK and the Royals could not play for two years. The BCCI brought in two new teams for that time. They were Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions. They played in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The two old teams finished their suspensions in July 2017. They came back for the 2018 season. CSK played its first match on 7 April 2018 and beat Mumbai Indians. It went on to win the title that year, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.

What Happened to the Players

The criminal case and the cricket bans ran on separate tracks. In July 2015, a Delhi court discharged Sreesanth and 35 other accused in the police case. Delhi Police challenged this in the Delhi High Court. I could not confirm the final result of that challenge.

The BCCI bans were a different matter. The board gave Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan life bans in September 2013. Ajit Chandila got a life ban in January 2016. In March 2019, the Supreme Court set aside Sreesanth’s life ban. It asked the BCCI to look again at the length of the punishment. The bans on Chavan and Chandila were also reduced later, according to news reports.

The Reforms That Followed

The Lodha committee had a second job. It had to suggest changes in how the BCCI works. In January 2016, it gave its report. Its ideas included:

• No ministers or government servants in BCCI posts.
• An age limit and a cap on how long office bearers can serve.
• A thought that Parliament could consider legalising betting.

On 18 July 2016, the Supreme Court accepted most of these ideas. It set an age limit of 70 for office bearers. It barred ministers and civil servants. It said an office bearer could serve a total of nine years. It left the question of legal betting to Parliament.

The court changed some parts in August 2018. It approved a new BCCI constitution. It dropped the “one state, one vote” rule, so older bodies such as Railways, Services and Universities kept their place. It also changed the cooling off period. An office bearer now rests only after two terms of six years in a row.

Why the Case Still Matters

The case showed that a big league can be punished for the acts of its officials. It also showed that courts can step into the running of a sport. Many fans still point to it when they talk about fairness in cricket.

More on Cricket and the IPL

If you like cricket stories, read our guide to the IPL 2023 auction. Our piece on why cricket still rules the Indian internet shows how the league grew. You can also read about the women’s IPL model for brands. For a classic contest, see India versus Australia on the pitch.

FAQs About the Lodha Verdict

What is the Lodha verdict?

It is the order of 14 July 2015 by a committee led by Justice R. M. Lodha. It punished Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra and the teams CSK and Rajasthan Royals for betting linked to the 2013 IPL.

What is spot-fixing?

It means fixing one small event in a match for money. An example is a set number of runs in one over. It is not the same as fixing the full result.

Who was Gurunath Meiyappan?

He was the team principal of the Chennai Super Kings and the son-in-law of N. Srinivasan. The Supreme Court held him guilty of betting.

How long were CSK and the Royals suspended?

Both were suspended for two years from the date of the order. They returned for the 2018 season.

Did the court punish the players?

The BCCI gave life bans to Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila. A Delhi court discharged the accused in the police case in July 2015. The bans were handled separately and were later reduced.

Is betting on cricket legal in India?

The Lodha committee wrote that betting is a crime and a breach of BCCI rules. The Supreme Court left the question of legalising it to Parliament. Please check current law and rules before any such act.

Final Thoughts

The 2013 scandal began with three arrests and ended with big changes. Two teams sat out for two years. Two men were shut out of cricket. The board itself was reshaped. The Lodha verdict reminds us that a game depends on honest play, and that fans notice when it is missing.