Azhar's hearing adjourned again

The Hyderabad city civil court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of former India cricket skipper Mohammad Azharuddin's main suit, challenging the life ban imposed on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in connection with match-fixing scandal, to August 29.

Additional Chief Judge J Syamsundar Rao adjourned the hearing to the next date in view of the continuation of the Andhra Pradesh high court's interim orders staying the proceedings in the lower court.

It may be recalled that Justice B Sudershan Reddy of the high court had stayed all the proceedings in the main suit filed by Azharuddin in the city civil court. The BCCI had challenged in the high court the orders of the city civil court directing the board to file a written statement.

Earlier, the BCCI had filed an interlocutory application in the city civil court for striking off certain irrelevant pleadings and averments in the original suit filed by Azharuddin. The BCCI had requested the court that it should be permitted to file a written statement only after the interlocutory application is decided. However, the additional chief judge, city civil court, directed the BCCI to file the written statement before July 19.

Questioning the lower court's direction, the BCCI filed a Civil Revision Petition and a Civil Miscellaneous Petition in the high court. Justice Sudershan Reddy on July 18 passed interim orders staying all further proceedings in the original suit (No. 10/2001) filed by Azharuddin, in the lower court. This is the second adjournment of the case in the lower court.

Earlier, on July 19, the lower court adjourned the matter to August 2.