The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to accord urgent hearing on a plea seeking postponement of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 amid the coronavirus scare.
A vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose told the petitioner that he could mention the matter for urgent listing before the regular bench on 16 March when the apex court will re-open after the Holi break.
“This is not a matter which cannot await till re-opening of the court. You can mention it before the regular court on March 16,” the bench told advocate Mohan Babu Agarwal, who has filed the petition.
Agarwal told the bench that IPL 2020 is scheduled to start from 29 March but no safety measures have been declared to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the matches, which are likely to witness over 40,000 spectators.
Earlier this week, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly meanwhile confirmed to India Today that the IPL will be held as per the schedule and also assured everybody associated with the cash-rich league that the board will be taking all necessary precautions before and during the tournament.
The coronavirus outbreak has triggered a global health scare and sporting events across the globe are being canceled or pushed to a later date. Some of the biggest sporting events have been postponed or being played behind closed doors.
As of March 11, the reported number of positive cases for COVID-19 in India stands at 60. Notably, 2 people Mumbai tested positive for coronavirus, taking the number of such cases in Maharashtra to seven.
Even as voices against hosting IPL 2020 amid the outbreak of coronavirus in India in rising, the BCCI has decided to go ahead with the upcoming 3-match ODI series between India and South Africa from March 12.
