Former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin sought the setting aside of the life ban imposed on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for his role in the match-fixing scandal, telling a Hyderabad court on Tuesday that the BCCI had acted against him with "deep rooted malice".

As the arguments in the case began, Azharuddin's counsel explained to the second additional chief judge the circumstances under which his client had filed the suit.

The counsel pleaded that the BCCI had proceeded against Azharuddin with deep-rooted malice and prejudice, and claimed the inquiry against him, conducted by former CBI director K Madhavan, was only an "eyewash".

The counsel argued that in view of the large-scale condemnation of the match-fixing episode in the media, the BCCI had whimsically imposed a life ban on Azharuddin to appease public sentiment. It (BCCI) did not evaluate Azharuddin's performance in the matches, which are alleged to have been fixed, he said.

The arguments will resume on Thursday.