Bombay High Court turns down Hiken Shah's appeal

The Bombay High Court has dismissed Mumbai batsman Hiken Shah's petition challenging his suspension by the BCCI for having made a corrupt approach. The two-judge bench dismissed the petition on the grounds that it did not want to interfere in the BCCI's processes, but said Shah can reapply to the court if the board doesn't complete its investigation within six months.

The board had suspended Shah with immediate effect in mid-July after he was found guilty of having approached a Mumbai team-mate. Shah's petition was based on the fact that he was suspended without the BCCI providing any details in writing about his alleged breaches.

After hearing both the parties, Justice VM Kanade and Justice BP Colabawalla noted they wouldn't like to interfere with the BCCI's rules and regulations. As Shah was found guilty of breaching the board's anti-corruption code, the BCCI's disciplinary committee will now consider the anti-corruption unit's report and the player's version of events, and then decide on a course of action.

"Since my client hasn't even been given a copy of the complaint, we decided to seek court's intervention. The good thing is the court has asked for a time-bound inquiry," Som Sinha, Shah's counsel, told ESPNcricinfo. "Since the court said it wouldn't like to intervene in the BCCI's procedure, we were told that we can come back to the court if the BCCI doesn't take a decision in six months. We will decide future course of action depending on the BCCI's decision."