Cricketer Sreesanth Moves Kerala High Court For Anticipatory Bail In Cheating Case

Indian Cricketer S. Sreesanth has approached Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a cheating case. 

When the matter was taken up on Friday, Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. asked the State not to take any coercive action against the Cricketer till the next date of posting on November 28, 2023 (Tuesday).

The prosecution allegation is that two accused persons had made the complainant part with certain amount of money, for construction of a villa project. 

Subsequently, the accused persons informed the complaint that a Cricket Academy would be started in its place by the first two accused persons, under the guidance of the petitioner (Sreeshanth), who has been named as the third accused in the case. It is alleged that the first accused had also promised the complainant of partnership in the Academy. 

The petitioner averred that although he had been contacted by the 1st accused with the proposal to start the academy and that he had also given his input in the matter, the former never entered into any kind of financial transactions with the other two accused persons.

The petitioner stated that he had given his input in the matter pro bono, being a cricket enthusiast, and that he had been unaware of his name being used for any purpose at any point of time. He added that the Academy also never started. 

"The petitioner out of his interest and passion for the game, gave tips and consultations to the 1st accused when he approached him with the proposal to start a cricketing academy that too in Kollur a holy land for Hindus being the Home ground of Lordess Mookambika Devi . His naivety never made him realise the trouble that was being portrayed by the 1st accused," Sreeshanth submitted before the Court. 

The petitioner averred that he was innocent of the charges levelled against him, and suspected conspiracy and foul-play behind the allegations. 

He further submitted that although the the amounts were alleged to have been transferred in 2019, the complaint has been filed belatedly. 

Sreeshanth averred that the allegations against him have arisen at a time when he has been playing and performing well in the Legends league Cricket, and is also being considered in few other Professional League Cricket auction as well. 

"The petitioner is totally innocent of the allegations and defamatory allegationsare levelled against the petitioner in order arm-twist and pull-out resources from him in the name of a forced settlement. It is submitted that the petitioner is totally innocent of the charges and the allegations are not only untrue but also defamatory as well. It is only intended to malign the petitioner and his family. No purpose would be served by the custody of the petitioner herein and the arrest of the Petitioner at this time would lead to irreparable harm and damage to him," the plea states. 

The matter shall next be considered by the Court on Tuesday, by which date the Court had asked the Public Prosecutor to get instructions. 

The plea has been moved through Advocates Renjith B. Marar, Lakshmi N. Kaimal, P. Rajkumar, Keshavraj Nair, Arun Poomulli, Preetha S. Chandran, Abhijith Sreekumar, Anand Remesh, C.R. Rekha, and Abhiram S. 

Case Title: S. Sreesanth v. State of Kerala 

Case Number: Bail Appl. 10582/ 2023