Court drops charges against Sreesanth, 35 others

A COURT HERE on Saturday dropped charges against cricketer S. Sreesanth and 35 other accused in the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing case.

Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna discharged cricketers Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, and 33 others.

Delhi Police chargesheeted them for cheating and conspiracy under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

The court announced its order in a jam packed room -- full of lawyers, journalists and other people.

Soon after the court ordered that all accused were discharged, Sreesanth broke down.

Welcoming the verdict, Sreesanth told reporters that he had faith in the judiciary and believed that he will be released in the case.

Delhi Police filed a chargesheet on July 30, 2013, alleging that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel were behind the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

The formal set of charges, running into 6,000 pages, named Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan, among other accused, in the scandal related to the IPL-6 held in 2013.

Dawood and Shakeel are on the run and have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case after police completed proceedings of their property attachment.