Azhar case hearing put off to Aug 2

Syed Amin Jafri

The Hyderabad city civil court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the main suit filed by former India cricket skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, challenging the life ban imposed on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for his alleged match-fixing links, to August 2.

When the main suit and interlocutory applications came up before him, the second additional chief judge, city civil court, J Syamsunder Rao, adjourned the matter to the next date in view of the interim order granted by the Andhra Pradesh high court on Wednesday, staying all further proceedings in the original suit filed by Azharuddin in the lower court.

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 the Civil Miscellaneous Petition in the high court. Justice B Sudershan Reddy on Wednesday passed interim orders staying all further proceedings in the original suit (No. 10/2001) filed by Azharuddin, in the lower court.

When the matter came up in the city civil court, the second additional chief judge adjourned the case to August 2.