03 July,2010 12:07 PM IST | | Agencies
India's cricket chiefs meet Saturday to choose a new member of a disciplinary committee that will decide the fate of Lalit Modi, the suspended chief of the scandal-hit Indian Premier League.
It follows the decision by the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to step down from the panel after Modi -- who faces allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering -- accused him of bias.
BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said the governing board's president Shashank Manohar, a lawyer by profession, had wanted to "ensure fair play and give Modi a fair trial."
Modi's lawyer Mehmood Abdi had written to the BCCI demanding that Manohar opt out of the committee because he had "reasons to believe there was some bias or prejudice against Modi".
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The BCCI, owner of the hugely popular Indian Premier League, suspended Modi in April following the raft of allegations against him, which also sparked a government investigation.
Modi, 46, has submitted written replies to the charges that include rigging bids, holding proxy stakes in teams and receiving kickbacks in return for broadcasting deals.
He is also accused of planning an IPL-style league in England without the knowledge of the BCCI or the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Modi has also been suspended as one of the five vice-presidents of the BCCI and removed as chairman of the T20 Champions League, a separate club tournament organised jointly by India, Australia and South Africa.
At Saturday's meeting in Mumbai which opens at 0930 GMT, the BCCI will nominate Manohar's replacement on the committee to sit alongside politician-lawyer Arun Jaitley and businessman Chirayu Amin.
Both are BCCI vice-presidents and it is expected that one of the two remaining VPs, Shivlal Yadav or Arindam Ganguly, will be nominated.
Modi's troubles began in April when he revealed the ownership details of a new franchise set to join the tournament in 2011.
He embarrassed a high-profile member of the government, junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor, by leaking on Twitter how Tharoor's girlfriend had been given a free stake in the new team.
The minister was forced to resign under pressure from the opposition, which accused him of misusing his office to secure personal gain.
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