The Bombay High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on former chief of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi for filing a “frivolous and wholly misconceived” petition.Modi sought an order for the BCCI to cover a Rs 10.65 crore penalty imposed on him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for breaching the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).A division bench of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain in its order said that the petition is frivolous, and accordingly, we dismiss this petition with costs of Rs. 1,00,000/- payable to Tata Hospital.
The court, while imposing the cost, noted that despite clear orders of the Supreme Court, passed way back in 2005 in Zed Telefilms Ltd. & Anr. Vs. Union of India & Ors., 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.(UNI)
