Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on June 30 refused to entertain a plea fled by former IPL head Lalit Modi seeking a direction to the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to pay a penalty of Rs 10.65 crore imposed on him for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan declined to interfere with a decision of the Bombay High Court turning down his writ petition seeking a direction to the BCCI to pay this penalty imposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for purported infraction of the foreign remittance law during the 2009 IPL season held in South Africa. However, the Justice Narasimha-led Bench clarified that Lalit Modi could pursue other remedies available under the law, including filing a civil suit.
In an order passed on December 19 last year, the Bombay High Court had refused to accept Lalit Modi’s contention that a writ direction could be issued to the BCCI since the by-laws require the board to indemnify him. Not only was Lalit Modi’s writ petition dismissed, but a bench of Justices M.S. Sonak and Jitendra Jain said that the reliefs sought were “wholly misconceived” and asked him to pay costs of Rs 1 lakh within 4 weeks.
