Indian cricket board may file civil and criminal charges against suspended IPL commissioner
Indian cricket board may file civil and criminal charges against suspended IPL commissioner
THE Board of Control for Cricket in India gave clear indications on Saturday that if it wishes, it has the power to file civil and criminal charges against suspended Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi, which could even result in a life ban.
In a Special General Meeting convened at its headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium, the board members unanimously ratified secretary N Srinivasan's refusal to accept Modi's response to the show-cause notice issued to him and the recommendation to refer the matter to the disciplinary committee.
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"The house, after deliberation and debate on the matter, resolved that the Board president has the right to start any legal proceedings, including civil and criminal, against Mr Modi," president Shashank Manohar said on Saturday.
"The civil and criminal matters would be decided after inquiry and that is for the disciplinary committee to decide. 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 said.
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| BCCI secretary N Srinivasan and president Shashank Manohar during a news conference at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday. pic/atul kamble |
Should the disciplinary committee find Modi guilty of the charges that include misappropriation of funds, rigging franchise bids and plans of setting up a parallel IPL in England among others, the BCCI could press for charges. If that does happen, the issue is certain to drag on for some time.
The disciplinary committee has six months from the time the first show-cause notice was issued to Modi and will have to take a decision by October 26 as the first notice was issued minutes after the April 25 IPL final.
Board president Manohar, who was part of the three-man disciplinary committee, opted out after Modi accused him of being biased.
Jyotiraditya Scindia was named as his replacement in the committee that also includes Arun Jaitley and IPL interim chairman Chirayu Amin.
Truth will emerge, says Modi
LALIT Modi reacted sharply to the Board's decision to initiate firm action on him for financial irregularities in the Indian Premier League. "Battle lines have been drawn. Agenda's fixed.
Timelines laid. Let's see who wins and who is guilty of what. Now truth will emerge. Wait watch," Modi said on Twitter. "First objective is for truth to come out. Then we move from there.u00a0
Not the type to lose a war. Battle maybe," he said in another message.u00a0 He received strong support from Shane Warne, who wrote: "Hope all works out mate.. It's your vision the ipl."
Bedi applauds BCCI'su00a0 stand on Modi
LEGENDARY left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi applauded the BCCI for its decision to look into the possibilities of pressing civil and criminal charges against Lalit Modi.
"If he's guilty he must be punished. I applaud the Board's firm stand. When a player is guilty, he gets some punishment. So why should it be different for officials," said Bedi. "Usually officials are not punished.
This is a great opportunity for BCCI to set a precedent and make it clear that any wrong doing will not be tolerated. Modi was trying to be bigger than the game and must be shown his place," he added.
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