In response to the request from Ministry of Sports regarding an inquiry into match fixing and related malpractices in Indian Cricket, vide DO No. F-23-8/2000-SP.III from Shri N.N. Khanna, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports, CBI registered a Preliminary Enquiry No. 2/S/2000 on 2.5.2000. The scope of the PE is broadly limited to the letter of Shri N.N. Khanna in which there is a general mention of various allegations as they had appeared in the media as well as issues raised during a debate in both the Houses of Parliament. The Ministry‟s letter further requests the CBI to collect and evaluate various news-items and information published in both the print and electronic media and conduct a comprehensive enquiry into the allegations of match fixing and related malpractices connected with the game of cricket.
(b) PARAMETERS: After registering the PE, CBI undertook an exercise to fix certain parameters, since the enquiry was open-ended without setting for itself any specific time-frame for which the probe was to be conducted or specific allegations or names which had to be looked into or specific areas which had to be enquired into. In this connection it was decided that first of all a broad enquiry was to be made to ascertain whether match fixing and other malpractices connected with the game of cricket existed. Accordingly, the following corner-stones were fixed as primary focal points of this enquiry:
(1) to identify the betting syndicates operating in India and examine their activities;
(2) to unravel the linkages of cricket players or their intermediaries with these syndicates and their roles in the alleged malpractices; and
(3) to examine the role and functions of BCCI so as to evaluate whether it could have prevented the alleged malpractices.
(c) MECHANICS USED:
(i) All available overt and