'No compulsion to watch the matches': Madras high court refuses urgent hearing on IPL postponement plea

CHENNAI: Madras high court on Thursday refused urgent hearing of a PIL seeking to postpone the IPL matches that are scheduled in MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai, on April 3 and 11, until after the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

"What is your problem if the match is conducted tomorrow? What provision of law is violated if the matches are conducted," the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan said.

"If you don't want to watchbthe matches don't go. Sit in home. There is no compulsion to watch the matches," the court added.

The judges made the observations while rejecting a mention made by counsel for petitioner T Prabhakaran, a resident of Triplicane Assembly constituency where the stadium is located.

The petitioner wanted the court to direct the authorities to strictly enforce the model code of conduct to ensure that there is no public display of any political party’s symbol, logo, flag, posters or any other material during the match. As per the fixtures released by the organisers of IPL, two matches are scheduled in MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 3 and April 11, between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings, and CSK and Delhi Capitals.

According to the petitioner, since the election process to the Tamil Nadu state Assembly has commenced, the entire state machinery is under the control of the Election Commission of India (ECI), and the entire bureaucratic machinery is geared up to conduct the elections and ensure that free and fair elections are conducted.

Particularly, the police department, which is tasked with the duty of regular law and order in addition to other work pertaining to the prevention of crimes, will be tasked with election-related work.

While so, permitting IPL matches in Chepauk Stadium will burden the Chennai police with providing security to the matches and players and maintaining law and order in and around the stadium, he said.

“It is also pertinent to note that, considering the fact that the matches are viewed worldwide, there is also a viable possibility that the political parties contesting the elections may see to it that their supporters gather inside and outside the stadium in order to ensure propaganda for their respective parties and, in such circumstances, the same may result in clashes inside the stadium,” he said.