'Frivolous Petition': Bombay HC Slaps ₹1 Lakh Cost On Lalit Modi For Asking BCCI To Pay ₹10 Crore On His Behalf To ED In FEMA Case

The Bombay High Court on Thursday imposed of cost of Rs 1 lakh on former chief of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) Lalit Modi for filing 'misconceived' petition seeking directions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay on his behalf the penalty of Rs 10.65 crores imposed on him by the ED for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).A division bench of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain noted that despite clear orders of the Supreme Court, passed way back in 2005 in Zee Telefilms Ltd. & Anr. Vs. Union of India & Ors that the BCCI does not answer the definition of 'State' within the meaning assigned to this term under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, Modi has filed the instant frivolous petition in 2018, seeking writ orders against the BCCI."In matters of alleged indemnification of the petitioner in the context of penalties imposed upon the petitioner by the ED, there is no question of discharge of any public function, and therefore, for this purpose, no writ could be issued to the BCCI. In any event, the reliefs are wholly misconceived. The adjudication authority under the FEMA has imposed a penalty of Rs. 10,65,00,000/- upon the petitioner. The petitioner now seeks a writ of mandamus on the BCCI to pay this amount to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). No such mandamus can be issued," the judges said in the order.Imposing costs the court said: "This petition is frivolous, and accordingly, we dismiss this petition with costs of Rs.1,00,000/- payable to Tata Memorial Hospital". Notably, the ED had on May 31, 2018 slapped a penalty of Rs 10.65 crore on Modi and a further amount of Rs 82.66 crore on the BCCI, Rs 11.53 crore on its former chairman Srinivasan, Rs 9.72 crore on former BCCI treasurer M P Pandove and Rs 7 crore on the State Bank of Travancore (now merged with the SBI).The total penalty amount imposed by the ED was Rs 121.56. The anti-money laundering agency slapped the fine while it was probing the alleged breach of FEMA in transfer of Rs 243 crore out of India for hosting the IPL 2009's edition in South Africa. An order passed by the adjudicating authority under the FEMA stated that this transfer of funds was in alleged violation of the RBI guidelines meant for transferring funds abroad.Case Title: Lalit Modi vs BCCI and Others (Writ Petition 3077 of 2019)Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Bom) 649Counsel for Lalit Modi: Advocates Mohit Goyal and Gaurav Gopal instructed by Wadia Ghandy & Co. Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Frivolous Petition': Bombay HC Slaps ₹1 Lakh Cost On Lalit Modi For Asking BCCI To Pay ₹10 Crore On His Behalf To ED In FEMA Case

Narsi Benwal

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