MUMBAI: After a prolonged period of waiting, the Supreme Court has finally pronounced its verdict on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president N Srinivasan’s conflict of interest case. Amongst other things, the court said that Srinivasan cannot contest the BCCI polls till he gives up commercial interest in the Indian Premiere League (IPL) franchise - Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

A bench of Justices including TS Thakur and FMI Kalifulla, which heard the counsel for BCCI and Srinivasan on one side and rival Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) on the other, had on 17 December reserved its verdict on Srinivasan's re-election plea but had indicated that the judgment could formulate accountability standards for ill-managed sports bodies to eliminate nepotism and conflict of interest.

The key points of the 130 page judgment read by the Supreme Court includes:

* N Srinivasan or any administrator having commercial interest in cricket cannot contest for BCCI till they have those interests.

* Supreme Court sets up three-member panel headed by ex-CJI R M Lodha to decide quantum of punishment against Meiyappan and Kundra

* BCCI did not adhere to prescribed procedures while conducting probe in IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal

* Charges of cover-up against BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan not proved

* Amendment in BCCI rules allowing Srinivasan to own IPL team, is bad

* The highest Court of the country said conflict of interest in cricket leads to great confusion

* SC framed seven questions on which it has passed its verdict

* Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra and Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in betting stands proved 

The panel of judges also asked BCCI to hold fresh elections within six weeks. An independent panel would  decide the fate of multimillionaire franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.