By IANS,
Kolkata : Acting on a petition filed by former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Calcutta High Court Wednesday ordered that criminal cases be filed against six current and former officials of the board for committing perjury.
The six include Union agriculture minister and former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar, present board chief Shashank Manohar, chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty, secretary N. Srinivasan, his immediate predecessor Niranjan Shah and Chirayu Amin.
The Pawar-led BCCI regime had expelled Dalmiya Dec 17, 2006 alleging financial irregularities with regard to the 1996 World Cup accounts.
Dalmiya had then moved the court pleading for revocation of the expulsion order claiming the rules under which he was expelled were not registered.
The six board officials signed an affidavit before the Calcutta High Court, April 2, 2007, claiming Dalmiya was expelled under the new rules framed by the body and registered with the Chennai-based Tamil Nadu Registrar of Societies.
Dalmiya filed the perjury case July 20, 2007, the day when the Calcutta High Court declared the expulsion was illegal.
Justice Nadir Patheriya Wednesday said the board mandarins had lied to court, committed perjury and submitted a false affidavit, and directed the Registrar of the Calcutta High Court to initiate criminal proceedings.
The sensational ruling has caused embarrassment for the present BCCI regime.
Pawar is the president-elect of the International Cricket Council (ICC), while Manohar took over as BCCI head about six weeks back.