Supreme Court Examines Whether Match-Fixing Constitutes Cheating Under IPC

The Supreme Court examined whether match-fixing in sports amounted to “cheating” under Section 420 of the IPC or corresponding provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The BCCI urged the Court to criminalise match-fixing, claiming it involved deception and financial harm to spectators and sponsors, citing the Law Commission’s 2018 recommendation to treat sports fraud as a criminal offence.

The matter arose from the Karnataka Premier League 2019, where players allegedly received payments to manipulate match outcomes. The High Court had quashed the FIR, ruling it was not cheating.

[State of Karnataka & Anr. v Abrar Kazi & Ors.]