Is match-fixing a criminal offence? Supreme Court to decide in KPL fixing case

 

Supreme Court to Examine Whether Match-Fixing is a Criminal Offence

In a significant development for Indian sports and legal jurisprudence, the Supreme Court of India is set to examine the legal question of whether match-fixing can be classified as a criminal offence under existing laws. The case titled State of Karnataka & Anr v. Abrar Kazi & Ors will be heard on July 22, with a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh presiding over the matter.

During the recent hearing, the bench appointed Advocate Shivam Singh as amicus curiae to assist the Court in evaluating the issue. The appeal before the apex court has been filed by the State of Karnataka, challenging a decision by the Karnataka High Court, which had earlier quashed criminal proceedings, including charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy, against certain individuals accused of fixing matches in the 2018 Karnataka Premier League (KPL) season.

Among the accused were CM Gautam, a former captain of the Karnataka Ranji team and a former player for IPL teams like Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians, and Abrar Kazi, who played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and had stints with both the Karnataka and Mizoram Ranji squads. They were allegedly involved in manipulating match outcomes during the 2018 KPL season.

The Karnataka High Court, while quashing the charges, had ruled that acts of match-fixing might constitute a breach of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) code of conduct but do not necessarily amount to a criminal offence under Indian Penal Code. The High Court observed that while match-fixing could give rise to a perception of cheating among cricket fans, this public sentiment does not by itself establish a cognizable offence. The judgment further stated that match-fixing may reflect "dishonesty, indiscipline, and mental corruption" but emphasized that it falls within the jurisdiction of the BCCI to take disciplinary action, not criminal courts.

Representing the Karnataka government in the Supreme Court is Advocate DL Chidananda, while the Central Government is being represented by Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj and a team including Advocates Sharath Nambiar, Praneet Pranav, Satvika Thakur, Anuj Srinivas Udupa, and Arvind Kumar Sharma.

On the side of the respondents, a group of lawyers including Advocates Ananga Bhattacharyya, Devahuti Tamuli, Krishanu Barua, Sandhya Gupta, Varchaswa Singh, Drishti Gupta, Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Bhargava V Desai, and Shivam Sharma appeared before the Court.

As the case now awaits detailed hearing on July 22, the verdict could have far-reaching implications on how sports fraud and ethical breaches in professional cricket are handled under Indian law.