New Delhi: The Supreme Court today refused to accord urgent hearing on a plea seeking postponement of Indian Premier League (IPL)-2020 amid the coronavirus scare.
A vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose told the petitioner that he could mention the matter for urgent listing before the regular bench on March 16 when the apex court will re-open after the Holi break.
”This is not a matter which cannot await till re-opening of the court. You can mention it before the regular court on 16 March,” the bench told advocate Mohan Babu Agarwal, who has filed the petition.
Agarwal told the bench that IPL-2020 is scheduled to start from 29 March but no safety measures have been declared to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the matches, which are likely to witness over 40,000 spectators.
HC notice to BCCI
The Madras High Court today ordered issuance of notice to the Union Health Ministry and the cricket board (BCCI) on a PIL seeking a direction not to allow conduct of IPL matches in view of coronavirus outbreak.
When the PIL by G Alex Benziger, an advocate came up, a bench of Justices M M Sundaresh and Krishnan Ramasamy sought the response of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Department by 23 March and adjourned the matter.
”Foreign players won’t be available”
No foreign player will be available for this year’s IPL till 15 April due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain coronavirus threat, PTIĀ said, quoting a top BCCI source.