Former BCCI Chief and a Member of Parliament of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Anurag Thakur has proposed a jail term of at least ten years for anyone involved in match-fixing. He also suggested a fine of five times the amount levied for this case.
“Any person found guilty of match-fixing shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years and or with a fine which shall be five times the amount involved in the match-fixing,” the bill says.
The bill is expected to come in to effect in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament which also proposes to set up a regulatory body for all the sports federations with equivalent powers to that of the civil court to keep a measure on the frauds going on at a rapid pace at this current point in time.
“All sports federations would report to the proposed National Sports Ethics Commission in matters related to doping, match-fixing, fraud of age, sexual harassment of women and other unethical practices in sports,” Thakur said in the statement.
As per the proposition of the bill, the commission must be constituted of six members including four retired judges of either the Supreme Court or the High Court. It further proposes all the decisions and appointments must be made only after consulting India’s Chief Justice.
There have been instances in the past when some of the players have been dragged into controversies due to the involvement of their teammates in match-fixing. The former BCCI Chief said it is a high time that match-fixing and other offences in sports must fall under criminal law. He further said the bill would ensure that there is no Indian law which brings match-fixing any specific criminal law. He said the bill would eventually help the players who have been wronged by others and will allow justice to prevail for them.