Man petitioned high court to ban IPL auctions, judges fine him Rs 25,000

A man who had filed public interest litigation challenging the auctioning of cricketers in the IPL, comparing it to human trafficking, has been fined Rs 25,000 by the Delhi High Court. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar dismissed the plea by Sudhir Sharma stating that it is “not a Public Interest Litigation but a ‘Publicity Interest Litigation”.

“Playing for these teams in fact raised their prestige,” the bench remarked adding that none of the contentions of the petitioner were true.

The plea had contended that the players go through the auctioning process where they are purchased and sold through bidding corporates thus amounting to illegal human trafficking.

Sharma’s plea also stated that such practices promote corruption, nepotism and human trafficking by selling of players through open bidding on national television

The petition mentioned that the corruption prevailing through open bidding, selling and auctioning of humans (i.e. cricket players) in “glaring violation of law and the legal system” which promotes human selling, bidding, auctioning, etc. in ‘flagrant violation of law.