Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL), owners of Deccan Chargers who won the second edition of the Indian Premier League in 2009 have won an arbitration decision that could cost the Indian cricket board Rs 4800 crore.
Deccan Charges who were one among the 8 teams since the inaugural of IPL were terminated in 2012 by written notice from BCCI after the franchise failed to submit a bank guarantee of R100 crore. BCCI also charged them with failing to clear players’ dues and sold the Hyderabad franchise to Sunrisers Hyderabad for R425 crore (R85 crore a year) through an auction.
DCHL then approached the Bombay High Court claiming that the termination was arbitrary and now the judges have upheld the termination to be illegal and ordered BCCI to grant the damage amount. BCCI can challenge the arbitrator’s order before the Bombay High Court or pay the termination amount.
Rs. 4,814.67 crore plus 10 percent interest per year from Aug 2012 (the date of the initiation of arbitration proceedings) plus cost of Rs. 50 lakh, adding up to whopping Rs. 8000+ Cr.
With so much amount at stake, one can expect BCCI to appeal against this award.
On the other hand, I do find Deccan Chargers arguments to be valid.
“It may be mentioned here that the dispute arose in the fifth IPL season, when the BCCI issued a show cause notice for termination on August 11, 2012, over what the promoters alleged were “trivial matters”, the statement said.
“The promoters also said it was a case of discrimination as other franchises that had actually indulged in illegal activities were only handed meagre penalties, or banned for two seasons,” the statement mentioned.
“The Deccan Chargers promoters were given 30 days to rectify matters, but the IPL in a meeting on the 29th day took a decision to terminate the franchise.The rectification happened on the 30th day itself, yet the BCCI chose to disregard it."
BCCI are yet to pay the ‘Kochi Tuskers’ RS. 850Cr for a similar case. In 2017, the owner of the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers won a similar case of arbitration against BCCI. They not only denied to pay the compensation amount but also did not restore the franchise in the IPL and the case stand unresolved till date.
