Bombay High Court slaps ₹1 lakh costs on Lalit Modi for 'misconceived' petition against BCCI

The Bombay High Court on Thursday imposed costs of ₹1 lakh on former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi for filing a 'misconceived' petition [Lalit Modi v BCCI]..The petition sought directions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay on his behalf, a penalty of ₹10.65 crore which was imposed on him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in relation to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009.The Bench comprising Justice MS Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain, dismissed the petition, ruling that it was frivolous and not maintainable."This petition is frivolous, and accordingly, we dismiss this petition with costs of ₹1,00,000 payable to Tata Memorial Hospital," the order said.The Court held that the BCCI, in this context, is not discharging any public function, and thus, no writ could be issued against the Board for indemnifying Modi.."In matters of alleged indemnification of the petitioner in the context of penalties imposed upon the petitioner by the ED, there is no question of discharge of any public function, and therefore, for this purpose, no writ could be issued to the BCCI. In any event, the reliefs are wholly misconceived. The adjudication authority under the FEMA has imposed a penalty of Rs. 10,65,00,000/- upon the petitioner. The petitioner now seeks a writ of mandamus on the BCCI to pay this amount to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). No such mandamus can be issued," the Court said..The penalty on Modi was part of a larger investigation by the ED into the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL), where over ₹243 crore was allegedly transferred outside India in contravention of FEMA regulations. IPL 2009 was held in South Africa. In 2018, the ED imposed a total penalty of ₹121.56 crore on several parties, including the BCCI, its then-chairman N Srinivasan and others. Modi’s share of the penalty was set at ₹10.65 crore, which he sought to have the BCCI pay on his behalf through the present petition..Advocate Mohit Goyal along with advocate Gaurav Gopal instructed by Wadia Ghandy & Co. appeared for Lalit Modi.[Read Order]