In the midst of the coronavirus panic, the Department of Sports suggests that the IPL is being held in camera

Supreme Court refuses to hear urgent appeal

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant an urgent hearing on a petition requesting the postponement of the Indian Premier League-2020 amid fear of the coronavirus.

A vacation bench for judges U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose told the petitioner that he could raise the issue for urgent registration before the regular bench on March 16, when the Supreme Court reopens after the Holi break.

"This is not an issue that cannot wait for the reopening of the court. You can mention it in ordinary court on March 16, "said the bench to lawyer Mohan Babu Agarwal, who filed the petition.

Agarwal said on the bench that the Indian Premier League (IPL) -2020 is due to start on March 29 and will continue for almost two months, but no safety measures have been declared to prevent the spread of coronavirus during games , who are likely to see more than 40,000 spectators in each game.

“We are sitting on a holiday bench. We will hear questions that cannot wait. Not all IPL games will start on March 29. You can mention it on March 16, "said the bench.

Agarwal told the Supreme Court that during the IPL, players, commentators and broadcasters from foreign countries affected by a coronavirus would come to India and that there is a possibility of the virus spreading during large gatherings in such matches.

"This IPL is just a national professional tournament with no contribution to ICC records and is a private tournament and the risk in the era of Covid-19 (coronavirus) is quite high due to the huge gathering of the crowd, including players, staff, cheerleaders, etc. " said the plea.

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"They (BCCI and other concerned authorities) should explain how they are going to deal with the recent threat from Covid-19 and it is not the right time to postpone or defer the same thing to a future date because the threat is apparent in all probability examine the current scenario, "he said, while referring to the number of cases of coronavirus in several countries and the deaths caused by it.

The advocacy brought together the Center, the Ministries of Health and Law, the Cricket Control Council of India (BCCI), the IPL administration and the IPL teams as parties in the matter.

He asked the Center to take "effective, strong and solid measures" to stop the coronavirus epidemic.

Advocacy also sought a direction to "either stop, postpone or defer for future dates all of these huge programs like IPL, etc., avoiding the big public gathering for the time being until it ( coronavirus) be controlled. "

While seeking a directive to end the IPL matches, the plea asked for "appropriate action" against the BCCI, the IPL administration and the tournament teams for allegedly "Violated the law and undermined government directives on large public gatherings in search of the recent threat from Covid -19 soaring in the interests of justice".

He said the eight teams, which will participate in the IPL, will have up to 200 players, including 50 to 60 foreign cricketers, and 120 support staff who would be directly involved in the matches and there is also a threat because "autograph seekers enter into direct contact and proximity to players".

Advocacy claimed that Japan, which will host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said the games could take place later in the year and could not start on July 24 as scheduled due to the coronavirus. The BCCI has remained silent, but the Department of Sports suggested on Thursday that the IPL could be detained in empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though foreign players have been excluded from the glitzy event until April 15 following government-imposed travel restrictions.

Also read:10 reasons why you don't need to panic about coronavirus

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