In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on Lalit Kumar Modi, the former commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), for filing a frivolous petition against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Modi had filed the petition demanding that BCCI pay the ₹10.65 crore fine imposed on him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The court, however, rejected his petition, calling it “baseless and improper.”
The division bench of Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain found that there was no legal basis for Modi’s claim that BCCI should be responsible for paying the fine. The court emphasized that the BCCI had no public obligation to cover such penalties and ruled that directing the board to pay the fine was unjust. In its judgment, the court made it clear that BCCI could not be held liable for fulfilling the fine imposed on Modi by the ED, especially under the provisions of FEMA.
The court further clarified that the matter was not related to public duties and could not be tied to any action involving the BCCI. It stated that the petition was “pointless” and ordered that a fine of ₹1 lakh be levied on Modi, directing that the amount be donated to the Tata Memorial Hospital. The court also remarked that the relief sought by Modi in the petition was completely “incorrect and inappropriate.” It noted that the authority that had imposed the fine on Modi under FEMA was not linked to public functions and that no writ could be issued to BCCI in this regard.
The case dates back to 2009 when IPL, under Modi’s leadership, faced a controversy involving violations of FEMA. During the IPL tournament held in South Africa, over ₹243 crore was allegedly transferred out of India in violation of foreign exchange laws. In 2018, the ED took action and imposed fines on various individuals, including Modi, BCCI, and the then-president of BCCI, N. Srinivasan. Modi himself faced a penalty of ₹10.65 crore for his role in the violation.
Modi’s attempt to shift the responsibility of paying the fine to BCCI was ultimately rejected by the court, reinforcing the principle that individuals are responsible for their own legal obligations and penalties. This ruling is expected to have significant implications for similar future cases, where individuals might attempt to pass on their legal responsibilities to organizations or entities without any legal justification.
