Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCHL), the promoter of the former IPL franchise Deccan Chargers, has won a substantial arbitration award – reported in the Indian media to be in the tune of INR 4800 crore (USD 640 million approx) plus add-ons – against the BCCI for their alleged wrongful termination from the IPL. On Friday, the court-appointed arbitrator and retired Supreme Court Judge CK Thakkar reportedly found the BCCI’s termination of the one-time IPL champions wrongful and premature.
The dispute dates back to October 2012, when Deccan Chargers were terminated from the IPL for failing to put up the INR 100 crore (USD 19 million approx then) bank guarantee set by the Bombay High Court to stay in the league. The BCCI had then invited fresh bids for the Hyderabad franchise, which eventually went to the Sun Network that currently owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad. At the time, the arbitrator had put a stay on the termination, but the Bombay High Court overruled it following a BCCI appeal.
A Deccan Chronicle report said DCHL’s promoters considered the BCCI’s show-cause notices for termination in 2012 to be over “trivial matters” and thought of the termination as unfair, suggesting that other franchises that had “actually indulged in illegal practices” were given meagre penalties. The report also alleges that the BCCI’s termination decision had come a day before the deadline given to DCHL to resolve the issues, and that DCHL had resolved them in the stipulated time.
“BCCI had terminated the contract of Deccan Chronicle a day before. The challenge was in respect of illegal and premature termination and the tribunal has also come to the conclusion that the termination was premature,” Ashish Pyasi, associate partner of Dhir and Dhir Associates, which represented DCHL, was quoted as saying in Moneycontrol.
The compensation breakup reported in the media is understood to be around INR 4800 crore, along with an interest of 10% per year since the arbitration began in 2012 and a fee of INR 50 lakh (approx. USD 66,700).
“We haven’t received the judgement copy yet, only after reading we will decide next plan of action,” Hemang Amin, the interim CEO of the BCCI, was quoted as saying in the Economic Times.