An arbitral tribunal consisting of Supreme Court Justices (Retd) Sujatha Manohar, Mukunthakam Sharma and S.S. Nijjar upheld the termination of the IPL media rights agreement for overseas territories with WSG by the BCCI, on June 28, 2010.
Long after former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s exit from BCCI, pending litigations arising out of his controversial reign are now falling in place for the Indian cricket board. One such arbitration with the World Sports Group (WSG) brought a positive result for BCCI on Monday.
An arbitral tribunal consisting of Supreme Court Justices (Retd) Sujatha Manohar, Mukunthakam Sharma and S.S. Nijjar upheld the termination of the IPL media rights to agreement for overseas territories with WSG by the BCCI, on June 28, 2010.
It will allow BCCI to appropriate amounts lying in escrow account, to the tune of over Rs850 crore. The matter went to arbitration, after WSG staked claim over the profit they would have made, if BCCI did not cancel the agreement. They also wanted damages, for wrongful termination of the agreement. BCCI stuck to its stand that it was a fraud. “It has been proved that Lalit Modi in conspiracy with WSG officials cheated, and defrauded the BCCI,” senior counsel, Raghu Raman, who represented the BCCI said.
The BCCI had terminated its agreement (IPL overseas media rights ) with WSG in June 2010, over dispute arising out of Rs425 crore-facilitation fee pay-out. WSG (Mauritius) that won IPL media rights in a famous 3am deal with the then IPL commissioner on 15 March 2009, were unable to find a broadcast partner. MSM (Sony) entered into a facilitation agreement (R425 crores) with WSG (Mauritius) before they won the IPL media rights for Indian sub continent from BCCI. The overseas rights stayed with WSG but on discovering the facilitation agreement, the board called it ‘improper’ and reclaimed the rights.
Subsequently, Sony terminated the facilitation of agreement with WSG (Mauritius) and agreed to pay Rs300 crores to the BCCI, as well as another Rs125 crores after recovery from WSG. Ten years after Lalit Modi’s removal, BCCI has recovered the facilitation amount and won the right over Rs850 crores in escrow account.
“BCCI had raised a complaint in 2010 to Chennai police. Now a civil tribunal has held that it is a fraud conducted by Lalit Modi and some officials of WSG,” Raman said.
