BCCI firm on its stand, Modi may move court

With Mr Lalit Modi’s future as the IPL’s top man effectively hinging on the league’s governing council meeting in Mumbai on April 26, the BCCI is doing all it can to keep the road leading up to it as controversy-free as possible.

After Mr Modi sent an email to the board president, Mr Shashank Manohar, questioning the legality of Monday’s meeting, calling it unauthorised, the latter made it clear that he would go ahead with the meeting as per schedule.

“It is his viewpoint, everybody is entitled to their viewpoint,” Mr Manohar said, rebutting the IPL commissioner’s contention that as chairman of the governing council only Mr Modi had the authority to summon members.

The IPL chief though, isn’t backing down, and is considering moving the Bombay High Court. Senior lawyers Mr Ram Jethmalani and Mr Harish Salve are expected to appear for Mr Modi to seek an injunction against the April 26 meet.

The meeting had been convened by the BCCI secretary and Chennai Super Kings owner, Mr N. Srinivasan after Mr Modi’s disclosure of the Kochi franchise shareholding pattern snowballed into a scandal. The plan is to ask Mr Modi to resign at the meeting but Mr Modi claimed that as Mr Srinivasan was himself a team owner he was not authorised to convene the meeting.

Mr Manohar, however, sought to clarify that there was no conflict of interest as far as Mr Srinivasan was concerned. “It is not a question of owner. He (Srinivasan) is not calling the meeting as an owner of the team, and
in the board’s constitution the secretary is the convenor of all meetings. He enjoys full rights,” Mr Manohar said.