The arguments presented by Gurunath Meiyappan’s legal team asking for leniency, which were not accepted by the Supreme Court
ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2015The Lodha committee was tasked with fixing the sanctions on Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Here’s the case made to the committee asking for a lenient punishment by Gurunath Meiyappan’s advocate KV Vishwanathan, and the committee’s responses.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
No.ArgumentCounter argument by the Lodha Panel1He suffered imprisonment from 26th May 2013 to 4th June 2013His judicial custody for a period of 10 days shows the seriousness of the misconduct committed by him 2He is facing criminal charges before the magistrate on the same allegationsThe fact that he is facing criminal charges shows the seriousness of the misconduct committed by him 3This is his first offence with unblemished antecedents in the six previous IPL seasonsHis habit of regularly placing bets in IPL matches renders the argument of him being a first offender and having unblemished antecedents of no worth4He did not gain from betting, but in fact lost 60 lakh rupeesThe huge losses show that he engaged himself in heavy bets. It is his back luck that he did not make any money5He is involved in charitable work of the family company AVM groupCharitable work, if any, by the family business is hardly a mitigating factor6Cooperated with the Mudgal Committee as well as the police investigation teamThere is nothing to indicate that his participation was voluntary. On the other hand, he is guilty of not reporting exchanges with a known bookie7He is young (40 years of age) with a passion for the gameBeing 40 years of age, he is not young but middle aged. Any person who has a passion for the game would not be involved in betting8The vast media coverage resulted in untold mental agony to him and his familyAny agony suffered by him because of media coverage is too small in comparison to the huge injury caused to the reputation and image of the game, IPL and BCCI9He has been suspended from 26 May 2013The period of suspension already undergone is hardly a mitigating factor
Gurunath MeiyappanHaving rejected all the arguments presented by Gurunath Meiyappan’s lawyers, the Lodha Panel imposed the following sanctions on Meiyappan:(i) He is declared ineligible from participation in the sport of cricket as explained in the Anti Corruption Code for the maximum period of 5 years under Article 2.2.1.(ii) He is suspended for life from the activities as explained in Article 7.5 under Level 4 (first offence) of Article 2.4 of the Code of Conduct.(iii) He is suspended for life from being involved in any type of cricket matches under Section 6, rule 4.2(b) read with (j) of the Operational Rules.The above sanctions shall run concurrently and commence from the date of this order.
