Mumbai and Maharashtra associations move Supreme Court on IPL shift

The Mumbai Cricket Association and Maharashtra Cricket Association have moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order that ruled that all IPL 2016 matches scheduled to be played in Maharashtra in May should be moved out.

The Mumbai Cricket Association's plea, according to PTI, was put before a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, who listed the matter for hearing on April 25. The association said in its plea it will not use potable water for the pitches but treated sewage water instead.

"Both of us [the MCA and the Maharashtra Cricket Association] have filed separate petitions. [Our contention] is that there is loss of revenue and diminishing of job opportunities," MCA joint-secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar told ESPNcricinfo. "We are challenging it on that [ground] only because we are ready to use [treated] sewage water for the matches. Even without the IPL, we use the water to maintain the grass."

Khanvilkar said that while they haven't used treated sewage water in the past, they have started doing so for a month now. According to the Hindu, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mumbai Cricket Assocation, told the apex court that the association is not against the suffering people of Marathwada who are reeling under drought.

The Bombay High Court's ruling had come after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) questioned the hosting of IPL matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur while severe drought persisted in Maharashtra. The court had sought an explanation from the BCCI and the state associations on why water should be "wasted" on hosting the games when the state faced one of its worst ever droughts, before delivering a ruling that originally affected 13 matches, including the final which was to be held in Mumbai on May 29.

But the court later granted permission to conduct the match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians in Pune on May 1, after the BCCI had sought permission for the same citing logistical difficulties due to a short turnaround time from the match between Supergiants and Gujarat Lions on April 29 at the same venue. So, eventually, Pune will miss out on five matches, including the Eliminator and the second Qualifier, while no games will be held in Nagpur.