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The Supreme Court on Monday has granted liberty to Lalit Modi to move to a civil court to seek remedy against a Rs 10.65 crore fine imposed on him by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case in connection with the 2009 season of the Indian Premier League.
Modi had sought directions for the recovery of the fine amount from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), instead of him. A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan disposed of Modi's plea, allowing him to seek civil remedy, after the counsel appearing for Modi sought to withdraw the same. Modi had moved the top court against the decision of the Bombay High Court in dismissing his plea, with a Rs 1 lakh cost. During the hearing, Modi's counsel argued that as per various earlier judicial decisions, the case is well within the Writ jurisdiction provided under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. However, the bench was of the view that the BCCI has been held as 'not a State' for recovery of the said fine imposed by the ED. "BCCI is to be held to be 'not a state.' Recovery can't be equivalent to State", the bench stated. Modi's counsel then sought liberty to seek civil remedy by moving to a civil court in the matter. The Court agreed and disposed of the plea after noting that the same is not maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution. In May 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had levied penalties on the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and its former chief N. Srinivasan, among others, over alleged violations in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Apart from an 82.66 Cr fine on the BCCI, and an 11.53 Cr fine on Srinivasan, penalties have also been imposed upon the former chairman of the IPL, Lalit Modi (10.65 Cr), former BCCI treasurer MP Pandove (9.72 Cr) and the State Bank of Travancore (7 Cr). The penalties amount to a total of 121.66 Cr. On July 20, 2011, the ED had issued show cause notices to Modi and the BCCI under provisions of FEMA regarding the alleged transfer of a sum of Rs 243.45 crores to Cricket South Africa without prior permission of the RBI, ahead of an IPL tournament in 2009. The ED was subsequently allowed by the Bombay High Court to summon several former BCCI officials, including Manohar and then secretary N Srinivasan, as witnesses in the matter. (ANI)
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