In a significant setback to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Bombay High Court has dismissed its petitions challenging arbitral awards totaling over ₹538 crore in favour of the now-defunct Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
Justice R.I. Chagla, in a ruling passed on Tuesday, held that there was no “patent illegality” in the arbitral awards that would warrant judicial interference. The court observed that the awards, passed in 2015 by an arbitral tribunal, were legally sound and not contrary to Indian public policy or substantive law.
The Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise was originally awarded to a consortium led by Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) and later operated by Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL). The franchise featured in the 2011 season of the IPL but had its agreement terminated by the BCCI over alleged failure to furnish the required bank guarantee.
Challenging the termination, KCPL and RSW initiated arbitration proceedings in 2012, terming the BCCI’s actions as wrongful. They also raised concerns over reduced matches and issues around stadium availability. The arbitral tribunal eventually ruled in their favour in 2015.
The tribunal directed BCCI to pay:
- ₹384.83 crore to KCPL with 18% interest from September 19, 2011, plus ₹72 lakh in arbitration costs.
- ₹153.34 crore to RSW, the amount of a bank guarantee allegedly encashed wrongfully, also with 18% interest from the date of contract termination.
Appearing for the BCCI, senior advocate Rafiq A. Dada argued that the arbitral awards were “perverse, contrary to the terms of the agreement and Indian law” and contended that key evidence had been ignored. The BCCI also claimed that the awards violated public policy.
However, KCPL and RSW, through their legal counsel, maintained that the BCCI’s termination of the franchise agreements was premature and amounted to a repudiatory breach of contract.
After evaluating the arguments, the High Court held that the tribunal had acted within its jurisdiction and that the awards did not suffer from any glaring irregularity or legal infirmity.
Dismissing the BCCI’s petitions as “devoid of merit”, the court permitted KCPL and RSW to withdraw the amounts deposited earlier by the BCCI, four weeks after the order is uploaded. On BCCI’s request for time to explore further legal options, the court granted an additional two weeks’ extension for withdrawal.
