Chennai: Madras high court has refused to entertain a public interest writ petition to defer IPL matches, scheduled to be held in Chennai, to a date after the the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu. The PIL said the model code of conduct (MCC) might be violated during the matches.“One match is already over, nothing happened. You (petitioner) watched the match, right? You enjoyed it? Go and enjoy the second match also,” the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan said on Tuesday.“It is for the election commission to act. They are taking steps. If there is any violation, you can approach the commission. Your (petitioner) plea says ensure no violation happens. It is all anticipation and apprehension. PIL cannot be entertained on anticipation or apprehension,” the court added.The judges made the observations while dismissing as withdrawn a plea moved by T Prabhakaran, a resident of Triplicane Assembly constituency where the matches are scheduled. The petitioner wanted the court to direct authorities to enforce MCC strictly to ensure that there is no public display of any political party’s symbol, logo, flag, posters or any other material during the match.As per the fixtures released by the organisers of IPL, two matches are scheduled at MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 3 and April 11, between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings, and CSK and Delhi Capitals.According to the petitioner, considering the fact that the matches are viewed worldwide, there is also a viable possibility that the political parties contesting the elections may see to it that their supporters gather inside and outside the stadium in order to ensure propaganda for their respective parties and, in such circumstances, the same may result in clashes inside the stadium.
