Supreme Court sets aside life ban on cricketer Sreesanth in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case, asks BCCI to decide on a fresh quantum of punishment

The Supreme Court has set aside the life ban imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on former cricketer Sreesanth in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case on Friday. The Supreme Court has asked the BCCI to decide on a fresh quantum of punishment for the cricketer. It ordered the BCCI to revisit the quantum of punishment for Sreesanth.

The Supreme Court said that the life ban was too harsh a punishment and should not be imposed in all cases. The apex court said that the disciplinary committee did not take into consideration the circumstances. It added that the BCCI should reconsider its decision.

Sreesanth had appealed against the Kerala High Court judgment's upholding his life ban which was imposed on him by the cricketing board.

Sreesanth, who was arrested and later discharged by a trial court here in July 2015 in a criminal case related to the alleged spot-fixing, claimed he had to confess his involvement in the alleged crime as police tortured him in custody and threatened to implicate his family in the case.

The 35-year-old cricketer has challenged in the top court the decision of a division bench of the Kerala High Court which had restored the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI.

His counsel told a bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and K M Joseph there was "no clear proof" and evidence of match fixing and Sreesanth has suffered a lot in the past five-six years.

"In the context of facts and manner in which these things have happened, this court should consider that it (life ban on Sreesanth by BCCI) is unfair. He has suffered for last five-six years. People want him to play cricket. He was extremely loyal to BCCI," senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Sreesanth, told the bench. 

(With PTI imputs)