Supreme Court rejects former BCCI chief Anurag Thakur’s apology in contempt case
The bench asked him to file a fresh affidavit, furnishing an unconditional and unqualified apology by July 12.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an apology submitted by former Board of Control for Cricket in India President Anurag Thakur in a contempt case against him, reported Hindustan Times. “We are not happy with the affidavit of apology; it has to be categorical,” said Justice Dipak Misra.
Instead, the Supreme Court asked him to file a fresh affidavit, furnishing an unconditional and unqualified apology by July 12. The court also asked Thakur to appear in person before it on July 14, the next date of hearing in the perjury proceedings against him.
Thakur had first offered an apology to the apex court on March 5. The Supreme Court had pulled up Thakur for allegedly lying under oath and trying to obstruct its verdict on implementation of the Justice RM Lodha panel recommendations. The SC bench, headed by former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, had said that the Bharatiya Janata Party MP could face time in jail if found guilty of perjury charges.
In 2016, Thakur had been asked by the Supreme Court to file a personal affidavit about whether he had asked for a letter of intervention from International Cricket Council chairperson Shashank Manohar, stating that the appointment of an official from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office on the apex council would amount to governmental interference. ICC official Dave Richardson had alleged that Thakur wanted a letter signed from the council.
In his affidavit, Thakur denied that he had asked for such a letter from Manohar. The Supreme Court removed Thakur from the post of president of the BCCI on January 2.