The 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal led to three players - Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan - being banned for life by the BCCI for their involvement. Sreesanth, who appealed against his ban in Kerala High Court first and later in the Supreme Court of India, finally had his sanction reduced to seven years on Tuesday.
May 16, 2013
Sreesanth - along with Rajasthan Royals team-mates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan - is arrested by Delhi Police for fraud and cheating in IPL 2013. The three were allegedly promised money ranging from US$36,000 to 109,000 for each fix. Eleven bookies are arrested too. The BCCI suspends the three players, pending enquiry. A few days later, the Royals franchise suspends their contracts.
June 10, 2013
Sreesanth and Chavan are granted bail by a trial court in Delhi, with the judge stating that Delhi Police had not produced enough evidence to charge players under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a special law passed by the Maharashtra state government in 1999 to tackle organised crime and terrorism, with stricter provisions relating to bail and admissibility of confessions compared to the Indian Penal Code. On the same day, Ravi Sawani, then chief of the BCCI's anti-corruption unit, submits his interim report on the spot-fixing allegations against the players.
July 30, 2013
Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila are among 39 people named as accused in a 6000-page chargesheet filed by Delhi Police in the IPL spot-fixing case. The trial court issues notices to Sreesanth and Chavan in response to Delhi Police's plea to cancel their bail.
September 12, 2013
Following the submission of Sawani's final report on the spot-fixing allegations in the IPL, the BCCI summons Sreesanth, Chavan and three others (Harmeet Singh, Siddharth Trivedi and Amit Singh) for a disciplinary committee hearing. The following day, Sreesanth and Chavan are handed life bans by the BCCI for their involvement in the scandal.
July 25, 2015
A Delhi trial court drops charges against Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila in the matter. However, the decision has no bearing on the life bans imposed by the BCCI. Anurag Thakur, BCCI secretary at the time, says the penalties imposed by the board would not be lifted.
January 25, 2017
The BCCI denies Sreesanth permission to play in Scotland, after the fast bowler asks for a no-objection certificate to turn out for Glenrothes CC. In February, Sreesanth files a writ petition in Kerala High Court challenging his ban.
August 7, 2017
Kerala High Court orders the BCCI to lift the life ban on Sreesanth, observing that the board's refusal to do so is a "violation of natural justice".
September 19, 2017
The BCCI challenges the Kerala High Court judgement, asking whether the writ court could "sit in appeal" and "alter the quantum of penalty imposed" against the findings of the board's disciplinary committee. A month later, a division bench of the Kerala court negates the judgement issued in August and rules that the BCCI ban cannot be overturned or reduced.
March 15, 2019
The Supreme Court of India sets aside the life ban on Sreesanth and asks the board to "reconsider" and "revisit" the length of any fresh ban, "preferably" within three months. The court rules that while the BCCI did not violate any principles of natural justice in determining the sanction, it did not "advert to the aggravating and mitigating factors" as listed under its code.
August 20, 2019
BCCI Ombudsman Justice (retd) DK Jain reduces Sreesanth's ban to seven years, with the sanction period set to end in September 2020. Jain states that he had found a "few mitigating circumstances" under the BCCI's code as pointed out by Sreesanth, such as no record against the player by the BCCI regarding his erratic behaviour, and "no allegation that he did not cooperate in the inquiry".