The Supreme Court on Monday provided the freedom to go to the Civil Court to get relief against a fine of Rs 10.65 crore imposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case in connection with the 2009 season of the Indian Premier League.
Modi had sought instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to recover the amount of fine. Earlier, the lawyer present on behalf of Modi demanded withdrawal of his petition.
Modi had moved the apex court against the Bombay High Court verdict to dismiss his plea with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. During the Sunwai, Modi’s counsel argued that according to various former judicial decisions, the matter comes under the writ jurisdiction provided under Article 226 of the Constitution of India Constitution.
However, the bench believed that the BCCI was considered ‘not a state’ for recovery of the fines imposed by the ED. The Peeth said, “BCCI should be considered as ‘state’. The recovery cannot be equal to the state.” After this, Modi’s lawyer sought freedom to the civil court in this matter. The court agreed to the petition, agreeing on this and said that it is not acceptable under Article 226 of the Constitution.
In May 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) gave the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its former head N.K. Srinivasan, including others, was fined in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules.
BCCI has been fined 82.66 crore and Srinivasan has been fined for former IPL president Lalit Modi (10.65 crore), former BCCI treasurer MP Pandov (9.72 crore) and State Bank of Travancore (7 crore).
On 20 July 2011, the ED issued a show cause notice to Modi and BCCI under the provisions of FEMA, alleging that the amount of Rs 243.45 crore was allegedly transferred to Cricket South Africa without the prior permission of RBI before the IPL tournament in 2009.
After this, the Bombay High Court allowed ED to call several former BCCI officials including Manohar and then Secretary N Srinivasan as witnesses in the case.
