IPL spot-fixing saga - Timeline

In the eight years since its inception, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen its fair share of controversies. However, the sixth season of the league, in 2013, threw up issues, that have since, snowballed into a saga, bringing the game much disrepute. Players were alleged to have fixed games, team owners were found to be involved in betting, cricket administrators were accused of protecting perpetrators and the highest judicial body in the country had to be summoned to fix the mess.

The following timeline traces the series of events that began with the arrests of three players of the Rajasthan Royals franchise, S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.

Delhi police arrest S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila of Rajasthan Royals on charges of spot-fixing during IPL 2013. Eleven bookies are arrested, too. One of the bookies arrested is Amit Singh, a former player of Rajasthan Royals.

BCCI suspends the trio from playing any form of cricket after which the Indian Sports Ministry asks IPL authorities to hand out deterrent punishment to the three cricketers if they are found guilty.

BCCI President, N Srinivasan, states that one can't tarnish the IPL brand because of a few ugly incidents.

Royals skipper, Rahul Dravid expresses disappointment and shock over the developments, in a media statement.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) offers full support to BCCI and the Delhi Police in their investigation.

Arrested players taken in to five days of police custody for investigation.

Delhi Police release a full statement on the developments.

BCCI calls for an emergency meeting of its Working Committee to discuss the controversy threatening the credibility of IPL.

Even as Sreesanth's lawyer claims his client's innocence, the player confesses to wrongdoing during interrogations.

Delhi Police raid Ajit Chandila's (one of the three players arrested) house for more information on the spot fixing case. Read full story here.

BCCI share the following minutes in a press release.

'We will intensify the player education program we have''Rajasthan Royals also file a police complaint against the trio''Only 3 players have allegedly done something. Doesn't mean the entire IPL is bad''BCCI will work closely with the Delhi Police and hand out punishments to the guilty'

Read all the updates from BCCI's working committee meet here

Rajasthan Royals terminate contracts with the three accused in the spot-fixing scandal.

Indian ministers push for law against fixing in sports

Bollywood actor, Vindoo Dara Singh is questioned and later taken into custody for having links with bookies. He later confesses to the same. Police recover Rs. 1.28 crores from hawala operator, Alpesh Patel's residence.

Gurunath Meiyappan, Team Principal of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and son-in-law of BCCI Chief N Srinivasan, is arrested after being questioned by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch for his links with Vindoo Dara Singh. Meanwhile, India Cements, owners of the CSK franchise, dissociate themselves from Meiyappan, claiming that he is neither CEO nor the owner of the franchise but just a cricket 'enthusiast'.

BCCI chief promises objective treatment in Gurunath Meiyappan's case while refusing to step down from his President post. He also said that he had no knowledge of what Meiyappan was doing and stressed that law would take its own course of action in dealing with Meiyappan.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police describe Meiyappan as being 'non-cooperative' and 'evasive' during interrogations.

Rajasthan Royals trio S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan are sent to judicial custody in Tihar. Ankeet Chavan was later granted bail until June 6 to solemnise his marriage.

Secretary, Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer, Ajay Shirke step down from their positions in BCCI in protest of what Indian cricket and the BCCI have gone through in the last two weeks, both from the outside and inside.

Chairman of the IPL, Rajiv Shukla, resigns from his post in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal.

Meanwhile, N Srinivasan agrees to resign from his post if three conditions are met1. He should be reinstated as president if he comes out clean after the probe2. He should be allowed to represent India in ICC meetings 3. Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke should not be part of the new BCCI panel.

N Srinivasan steps aside temporarily as BCCI chief. Jagmohan Dalmiya takes over as interim President. Srinivasan reiterates that nobody asked him to leave and that it was his own call.

Vice President, Arun Jaitley says that N Srinivasan will stay away from the probe against his son-in-law.

Rajasthan Royals co-owner, Raj Kundra, is questioned by the Delhi police to seek information about the accused players. After a 10-hour enquiry, Kundra confesses to betting on IPL matches, including those featuring his team. His passport is subsequently seized by the police.

Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, is suspended for indulging in betting activities. BCCI then launches the IPL clean-up drive.

Raj Kundra alleges that he is being made a 'scapegoat' by the higher powers of the BCCI.

Sreesanth and Co. are granted bail.

Former BCCI President, IS Bindra, requests the ICC to conduct a probe on N Srinivasan and bar him from ICC until further investigation.

Harmeet Singh, another member of the Rajasthan Royals fraternity is questioned in by the BCCI anti-corruption probe panel. Harmeet claims Chandila and the bookies urged him to indulge in spot-fixing but he said no. He also says that Chandila was approached by 3 bookies to rope in Shane Watson.

However, BCCI suspends him for not reporting the incident because it amounts to a breach of BCCI's anti-corruption code.

Rahul Dravid is roped in by the Delhi Police to be the witness in the spot-fixing case.More here.

The 2-member probe panel, comprising former judges T Jayaram Chouta, R Balasubramanian, appointed by BCCI to investigate the spot-fixing controversy finds no evidence against Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan.

The Bombay High Court dismisses the findings of the BCCI-appointed probe panel that gave clean chits to Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra on hearing the Public Interest Litigation filed by Aditya Verma - Secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar.

The High Court also finds the panel "illegal and unconstitutional" as the probe mandates the need of at least a 3-member panel according to IPL's operational rule 2.2.

BCCI to move the Supreme Court on August 7th, challenging Bombay High Court's order.

The Supreme Court of India issues notices to BCCI, N Srinivasan, his company India Cements - which owns Chennai Super Kings - and Rajasthan Royals on an appeal challenging the Bombay High Court order from a month ago for not appointing a fresh committee to probe the alleged corruption in IPL.

Former Rajasthan Royals players Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan have been handed life bans by the BCCI while Amit Singh has been banned for five years.

Sreesanth writes a letter to BCCI, pleading guilty.

The Bombay Police files charge-sheet against Meiyappan and umpire Asad Rauf after finding incriminating evidence against the the former in the spot-fixing case.Read more here.

The Supreme Court rejects BCCI's suggestion for setting up a special committee to probe the IPL spot-fixing scandal and proposes a three-member panel headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice, Mukul Mudgal to examine the issue.

Srinivasan and Meiyappan appear before Mukul Mudgal and his probe panel constituted by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court-appointed Mukul Mudgal probe panel finds Gurunath Meiyappan guilty of betting and passing on team information during IPL-6. The three-member panel says the allegations of fixing against Meiyappan required further investigation. The probe also adds that Meiyappan has been proved to be a team official of Chennai Super Kings.

Read the entire report here.

CSK and India skipper MS Dhoni files a Rs 100-crore defamation case in the Madras High Court against media houses Zee Media Corporation and News Nation Network for linking him with illegal activities of betting, match-fixing and spot-fixing.

The Supreme Court asks N Srinivasan to step down as BCCI President and names Sunil Gavaskar as the interim chief of the board for IPL-7, so as to ensure fair investigation into the IPL spot-fixing saga. The top court, which had earlier recommended barring Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from IPL-7, allowed both teams to feature in the cash-rich league.

The Supreme Court rejects N Srinivasan's request to return to the BCCI fold and reveals that his name features in the inquiry report submitted by the Mudgal committee.

The Supreme Court asks the IPL Probe Panel to continue its probe on those named in the report.

Turning down BCCI's request to appoint a new panel, the Supreme Court has asked the Justice Mudgal committee to continue probing into the IPL spot-fixing and betting allegations. The Indian cricket board, during the hearing, requested the SC to appoint a new panel to take over the investigations as it felt the Mudgal committee findings were "erroneous."

Sourav Ganguly, one of India's greatest captains and batsmen, has been asked to join the Justice Mukul Mudgal probe panel and assist with the investigations in the IPL spot-fixing and betting case. Ganguly joins the panel as an expert on cricketing affairs.

The Supreme Court relieves Sunil Gavaskar as interim president of BCCI - IPL affairs and says board vice-president, Shivlal Yadav, will continue in the interim capacity as chief of BCCI for all non-IPL related matters.

The Supreme Court grants the Mudgal panel an extension of two more months to complete the probe and also rules out N Srinivasan's return to the BCCI fold until the investigation is completed.

The Mukul Mudgal-led probe panel submits its final report to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope.

The Supreme Court discloses that N Srinivasan, Sundar Raman (IPL CEO), Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra were probed by the Mudgal Commitee in the IPL spot-fixing case. SC also, accidentally, discloses the names of 3 Rajasthan Royals players, but soon ordered that players' names in the Mudgal Committee report should not be revealed. The Mudgal Committee later clears the three players of any wrongdoings.

The Mudgal report finds BCCI Chief N Srinivasan not guilty of either betting or fixing. The report however states that Srinivasan and four other BCCI officials were aware of an IPL player's code of conduct violations but failed to act on them.

The report states that IPL's Chief Operating Officer, Sundar Raman knew a contact of a bookie and had contacted him eight times during one IPL Season.

The report establishes Gurunath Meiyappan as being an official of the Chennai Super Kings franchise and not just an 'enthusiast'. It is also establishes that he had indulged in betting.

The report also charges Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, for being in touch with bookies about betting.

BCCI promises action against the indicted.

The BCCI calls the allegations against N Srinivasan 'baseless' and gives him a clean chit in the IPL corruption case after reviewing the contents of the Mudgal report in the working committee meeting.

The working committee also decides to back Sundar Raman after hearing out his explanations.

BCCI files an affidavit with the Supreme Court against the findings of the Mudgal Report that stated Srinivasan's failure to act against code of conduct violations.

Meanwhile, N Srinivasan requests the Supreme Court of India to reinstate him as BCCI President after being given a clean chit in the probe against betting and spot-fixing.

Submitting its response to the Mudgal report, India Cements requests the Supreme Court to not punish CSK just because of one person(Gurunath Meiyappan).

Supreme Court of India asks N Srinivasan to explain his role - as a BCCI office-bearer and as an owner of an IPL franchise.

Terming the BCCI as a 'mutual benefit society', the top court asks Srinivasan to not assume the grant of a 'clean chit'. More reactions here.

The Supreme Court declines the petitioner's request to make the Mudgal Report findings public. The hearing is then adjourned until the 27th of November.

In a devastating blow to Chennai Super Kings, the Supreme Court observes that the Indian Cements-owned franchise should be disqualified with immediate effect and without any further enquiry.

N Srinivasan's argument that there is no conflict of interest in owning an Indian Premier League (IPL) team while heading Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not find support from the Supreme Court of India.

India's top court of law, on Tuesday, rejected BCCI's four-point action plan to punish perpetrators of Indian Premier League's (IPL) spot-fixing scam and stated that only a completely independent body, with no affiliations of any kind to BCCI, would be able to dispense appropriate punitive measures.

BCCI presented the Supreme Court with four options for taking action against those found guilty.

1. Independent disciplinary committee that will be set up by BCCI can decide punishment.2. IPL governing council can decide what to do.3. Two independent judges can be appointed to decide on the punishment.4. Mudgal panel itself can take action.

According to Times Now, the highest constitutional court of the country has asked N Srinivasan to choose between the posts of BCCI administrator and IPL owner.

The hearing was subsequently adjourned for the day will resume on Wednesday, 10 December.

President-in exile, N Srinivasan requested the Supreme Court of India to allow him to contest BCCI elections scheduled for December 17. He also offered to stay away from the board's working committee meetings until he was cleared of all misdoings.

During the hearing, BCCI also opposed Supreme Court's proposal of setting up a higher-power probe citing impedance of autonomy. BCCI informed the top court that they did not have a problem with the probe panel but that the panel would still have to comply with BCCI and IPL rules.

Lawyers of India Cements were then given 45 minutes to argue their case. They requested the Supreme Court to not punish the franchise (CSK) for a mistake committed by one person. Gurunath Meiyappan, then, exercised his right to remain silent when probed about his role in the franchise.

Supreme Court then asked BCCI to postpone their AGM and elections to the board until January 31, 2015 to facilitate completion of hearing.

The Supreme Court hearing continued with the apex court pulling up IPL Chief Operating Officer, Sundar Raman for not taking any action even though he was aware that officials were involved in betting. The court comes down hard on Sundar Raman saying that he was party to everything by doing nothing and watching the fun from the sidelines. The SC also queries if Sundar Raman did not take any action fearing that his job would be at stake.

The Supreme Court continued to probe the conflict of interest angle in the spot-fixing case. Deeming the conflict of interest angle as 'relevant' and one that cannot be 'glossed over', the court added, "If the conflict of interest has to go, it will", despite BCCI asking the probe panel to adhere to IPL rules while handing out punishments.

The apex court also asked BCCI to give a list of administrators and players having commercial interest in IPL and Champions League T20 (CLT20). They also expressed their exasperation at BCCI administrators having vested business interests in the T20 league. "Heaven's won't fall if BCCI officials don't own team," the SC said.

BCCI named Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sourav Ganguly among others, in a list that included players and officials having commercial interests in the IPL and CLT20.

This was in response to the Supreme Court's request on December 16, asking BCCI to name all those falling under the conflict-of-interest bucket, which formed the heart of the hearing.

The Supreme Court of India came down hard on the BCCI and it's President-in exile, N Srinivasan in its 130-page verdict. The top court ruled the following

• BCCI will have to hold fresh elections within six weeks. Srinivasan cannot contest in these elections because of conflict-of-interest. There is need to establish institutions integrity within the BCCI.

• No BCCI administrator can have commercial interests. Argument that Srinivasan held miniscule share in India Cements misleading since his family directly or indirectly holds much more.

• The clause 6.2.4, that allowed N Srinivasan to own team, was the true villain in this case. Amendment in BCCI rules allowing Srinivasan to own IPL team is bad as conflict of interest in cricket leads to great confusion.

• BCCI functions are public functions, BCCI is amenable to article 226. State chose not to bring any law to check monopoly of BCCI.

• N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals franchise co-owner Raj Kundra are the team officials. Meiyappan and Kundra are involved in betting. BCCI has been asked to set up a report committee to look into these aspects.

• Independent committee to decide action against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. The three-member committee includes former judges RM Lodha, Ashok Bhan and RV Ravindran.

All updates here.

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of India appointed Lodha committee meted out severe punishments to the perpetrators of the IPL betting scam chief of which include

1. The suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the IPL for a period of two years

2. The life ban to Gurunath Meiyappan (former team principal of CSK) and Raj Kundra (co-owner of RR) from participating in cricketing affairs

The judgement was hailedas 'exemplary' by Justice Mukul Mudgal and was subsequently met with positive reactions from cricket aficionados.

In what will come as a huge relief for cricketers Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan, a Delhi trial court dropped all the charges against them in the IPL Spot Fixing case. Insufficient evidence against the players was cited as the reason for the verdict.

The prosecution can go ahead and take the case further to a higher court if needed but as of now, the cricketers are free to approach BCCI once again and there is room for them to start playing again. They were given life bans earlier by a BCCI Committee after the three were arrested in 2013 with relation to spot-fixing.