SC refuses urgent hearing on plea to postpone IPL-2020 amid coronavirus scare

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to accord urgent hearing on a plea seeking postponement of Indian Premier League (IPL)-2020 amid the coronavirus scare.

A vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose told the petitioner that he could mention the matter for urgent listing before the regular bench on March 16 when the apex court will re-open after the Holi break.

"This is not a matter which cannot await till re-opening of the court. You can mention it before the regular court on March 16," the bench told advocate Mohan Babu Agarwal, who has filed the petition.

Agarwal told the bench that IPL-2020 is scheduled to start from March 29 but no safety measures have been declared to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the matches, which are likely to witness over 40,000 spectators.