NEW DELHI, Oct 13: A Delhi court has fixed January 18 next year for hearing arguments on framing of charges in the match-fixing scandal case of 2000 in which police has chargesheeted six persons, including former South African captain Hansie Cronje.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal posted the matter for consideration on charge after the court was informed that copies of documents filed along with the charge sheet have been supplied to the accused.
“Accused number 6 Hansie Cronje is stated to have expired in an air crash on June 1, 2002 and the proceedings against him have been abated vide order dated July 23, 2013. Copies of documents have been supplied to the accused persons in the form of hard disk,” the court noted in its order.
“Put up for scrutiny of documents/consideration on charge on January 18, 2016,” it said.
The court had on July 23, 2013 taken cognizance of charge sheet filed by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police against six persons, including Cronje, in which it had alleged that he was paid Rs 1.2 crore in two instalments for fixing matches nearly 15 years back.
The names of Cronje’s compatriot cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje were left out from the charge sheet.
The police, in its 93-page charge sheet, has named Cronje, Rajesh Kalra, Sunil Dara, Kishan Kumar, the brother of slain T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar, as accused in the case.
Kalra, Sunil and Kumar are presently out on bail.
Besides them, Sanjeev Chawla and Manmohan Khattar were also named as accused in the case and police has chargesheeted them for alleged offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the IPC.
The court has abated the proceedings against Cronje, who was indicted by Kings Commission of Inquiry in South Africa, in view of his death in 2002.
Earlier, the police had informed the court that Chawla and Khattar were residents of UK and USA respectively and were hiding there and open non-bailable warrants have already been issued against them. (PTI)