The Bombay High Court decided on May 4, 2021, Tuesday to hear a petition seeking to cancel the Indian Premier League in 2021, citing the deaths and cases of coronavirus in India during the second COVID wave.
The petition demanded a Rs. 1000 crore penalty against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for "serious mismanagement and incompetence" in conducting the IPL during the COVID pandemic, as well as a directive to use the penalty and IPL profits to support people who are unable to find medicines and medical oxygen for treatment.
The case will be heard on Thursday by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice GS Kulkarni. The petitioner counsel listed the PIL before the Court during the hearing on (May 04, 2021), citing some news outlets which claimed that all pending IPL matches will take place in Mumbai.
Later in the day, reports surfaced that the BCCI had agreed to put the IPL on hold indefinitely due to COVID infection among some of the players. Under the authority of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Adv. Vandana Shah has lodged a complaint against the CEO and other members of the Board of Cricket Control in India.
The applicant also wanted the court to order BCCI to reveal what COVID-19 procedures are being implemented and complied with in full transparency. The people of the country, especially cricket fans, have been asked for a conditional apology for being "insensitive and tone deaf" during these times.
The petition asked the court to order that apps and games like MPL and Dream 11 be banned because they are "gambling apps in disguise" and should not be using cricketers as brand ambassadors because it would allow people to gamble in a "cricket-worshipping country."
The petitioner has requested that orders be given for the prompt return of all cricketers from other countries who were brought in to play in the IPL to their home countries, as well as to reveal all those people who contracted COVID 19.
The complainant, a lawyer, has tried to call into question BCCI's responsibility to the public and people of India for the supposed wrongful act of continuing the IPL tournament, arguing that lives are more relevant in these days.
According to the plea, when the IPL has hundreds of players, organisers, and workers a large number of individuals, including field workers, contracted personnel, and others, any event occurring while on the job will subject the employer, organisation, or governing body to 'vicarious liability.'
According to the complainant, the question of the organization's lack of responsibility for wrongful actions committed by its workers while on the job is a source of concern, particularly given the general public's protection and health.
"The organisation has to be held responsible for conducting a tournament which will almost as a certainty endanger people's lives. It is not a secret how places where a number of people gather become super spreaders." the plea stated.
