Sreesanth, Chandila, Chavan walk free

New Delhi, July 26 A trial court on Saturday discharged all accused, including cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case.

In an embarrassing setback for Delhi Police, the court said the prosecution failed to establish the existence of a crime syndicate led by Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel in betting and match-fixing or to link any of the accused to such a syndicate.

The court discharged all 36 accused who were arrested by police and slapped with MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act).

 On Saturday, additional sessions judge Neena Bansal Krishna said police failed to establish any case under MCOCA against the accused. A case could have been made under the Public Gambling Act, but "that also is not prima facie established from evidence placed on record by the prosecution."

"Even if entire evidence of prosecution is accepted, then too it is not established that there exists a core crime syndicate of Dawood, Chhota Shakeel who have been indulging in the organized offence of betting and match-fixing and also dealing with money so generated through hawala," the judge said in the 175-page order. The court cannot act merely as a post office or a mouth piece of the prosecution but has to consider the broad probabilities of the case, the total effect of the evidence and the documents produced before the court," the judge observed.

Discharging the accused, the court also said that the prosecution prima facie failed to show any illegal or hawala transactions among the accused who were arrested by the police.

Sreesanth broke down and hugged Chavan and Chandila, saying he was relieved at being "freed from the guilt of shaming the nation". "I am happy my innocence is proved. God willing, I will be able to return to cricket," he said.

Source: TOI