Chennai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed the Madras high court that it has not recognized the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Cricket Limited as the franchisee and the CSK is only a brand name of India Cements.
Senior counsel A. L. Somayaji, appearing for BCCI, made the submission when the petition filed by CSK Cricket Limited, which challenged an order of the Justice R. M. Lodha Committee, suspending the team from IPL for two years, came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T. S. Sivagnanam.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench reserved orders on the maintainability of the petition and said the hearing on the petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy will be subject to the outcome of the petition filed by CSK Cricket Limited.
During the course of arguments Somayaji submitted that the franchisee agreement was between BCCI and India Cements only. India Cements has no right to assign or delegate ownership to the CSK and even it does, it could be only with the prior permission from the BCCI. CSK Cricket Limited was not an aggrieved party.
Therefore, at the behest of the CSK Cricket Limited, the high court should not go into the validity of punishment imposed by the Lodha Committee. BCCI was a society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. If at all the punishment of suspension was to be challenged, it cannot be through writ proceedings, because the imposition of punishment was not in the discharge of BCCI’s public function, he added.
Senior counsel Nalini Chidambaram, appearing for Cricket Association of Bihar, the original complainant, submitted that the petition was not maintainable as the report of the Lodha Committee was not available before the court. It was a fundamental principle that without impleading the Committee and calling for its records, the present petition cannot be entertained at all. Serious allegations of personal bias and non-application of mind have been leveled against members of the Lodha Committee. Hence, the committee should be impleaded and heard, she added.
Senior Counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for CSK Cricket Limited, submitted that the question of impleading Lodha Committee does not arise, as it functioned on behalf of the BCCI. BCCI was part of the tripartite agreement involving BCCI, India Cements Limited and CSK Cricket Limited and the Lodha Committee had stated in its report that its order would be binding on CSK Cricket Limited as well. So far CSK has paid '70 crore to BCCI as franchisee fee and it was accepted. “Now, the BCCI cannot say we have no locus standi to question Lodha Committee report”, he added.
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