Despite its eagerness to seal suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi’s fate as quickly as possible, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is treading cautiously, wary of doing anything unconstitutional that could give Modi a chance to challenge the verdict.
No final decision was taken on his impeding expulsion at the BCCI’s special general meeting on Saturday, and the matter has merely been forwarded to the disciplinary committee.
The board has, however, chosen to initiate legal proceedings against Modi for financial bunglings while issuing IPL contracts and rights.
“The house, after deliberation and debate on the matter, resolved that the board president can start any legal proceedings, including civil and criminal proceedings, against Modi,” Manohar said on Saturday.
“I can tell you that there were certain rights given to parties without there being contracts like the ticketing rights of the finals and the third-place match given to a company called ‘Ticket Genie’. There was no contract to show how many tickets were printed and how many were sold,” he added.
Manohar refused to disclose an estimate of alleged financial irregularities, but claimed that Modi had signed a “large” number of contracts which the board had no knowledge of.
“Modi says he was not aware about the facilitation fee of $80 million. Modi, who has signed the contract, has given us the reply that he was not aware of the fee. He will be asked to appear before the inquiry committee where he can give his additional reply,” he said.
Board ratifies
all charges
The board has also unanimously ratified all charges against Modi and referred it to a re-constituted disciplinary committee which now has union minister and Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association chief Jyotiraditya Scindia replacing Manohar, the latter having recused himself. Apart from Scindia, the disciplinary committee includes IPL’s interim chief Chirayu Amin and BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley.