Former BCCI vigilance commissioner K. Madhavan, who examined the CBI report on match-fixing last year, says: "There are reasonably good grounds for the cricketers to sue for defamation against Denness." In his reckoning, each cricketer should file a defamation suit separately if they wanted to escape punishment.
More importantly, says Madhavan, the defamation suits have to be filed in South African courts and would be governed by the defamation law as defined there. Says he: "Since Denness pronounced his verdict there, it is a question of jurisdictional rights." Success, according to him, will depend on the circumstances and the way the arguments are advanced.
Even former South African wicket-keeper Dave Richardson, who is also a lawyer, says: "Indians should seriously look at the law and take recourse to legal action." Former law minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj, who was involved in the drafting of former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin’s petition in court, too agrees with Madhavan’s contention. Says he: "It’s a personal decision each cricketer will need to take. If they feel their names have been sullied or have suffered a loss of reputation, it is a fit case." But he differs on the issue of jurisdiction. "They (cricketers) can sue for defamation in India itself as all newspapers and TV channels carried the news of their punishments here." Bharadwaj also points out that the BCCI by itself does not have the locus standi to move court.
Leading lawyer Shishir Sharma emphasises that Sachin Tendulkar had a good chance of winning the battle in court. Under Law 42(3) of the Laws of Cricket 2000, tampering of a ball has to be reported by either the two umpires, the third umpire, the chief executive of the home board or the ICC chief executive. Says Sharma: "In Sachin’s case, none of them was involved. Denness decided to take suo motu action based on TV footage." South African off-spinner-turned-commentator Pat Symcox has the last word. He feels Virender Sehwag should drag the ICC to a civil court.
