Today, On The Supreme Court dismissed Lalit Modi’s plea asking BCCI to pay his Rs 10.65 crore FEMA penalty imposed by the ED. However, the bench clarified that he can still seek civil remedies under the law.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition from former cricket administrator Lalit Modi, who sought a ruling for the BCCI to pay a penalty of Rs 10.65 crore imposed on him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for breaching the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Justices P. S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan stated that while Modi’s plea was rejected, he retains the right to pursue civil remedies as allowed by law.
Previously, the Bombay High Court had ruled against Modi on December 19, labeling his petition as “frivolous and wholly misconceived” due to the penalty being imposed by the adjudication authority under FEMA.
Modi argued that during his tenure as vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and chairman of the Indian Premier League governing body, the BCCI was obligated to indemnify him according to its bylaws.
However, the High Court referenced a Supreme Court ruling from 2005, which clarified that the BCCI does not qualify as a ‘state’ under Article 12 of the Constitution. The High Court noted that Modi had filed this petition in 2018 despite the Supreme Court’s clear directives.
The High Court stated,
“In matters of alleged indemnification of the petitioner (Modi) 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,”
Ordering Modi to donate Rs 1 lakh to the Tata Memorial Hospital within four weeks, the court concluded,
“In any event, the reliefs are wholly misconceived. This petition is frivolous, and accordingly, we dismiss this petition,”
Case Title: LALIT KUMAR MODI vs BOARD OF CONTROL FOR CRICKET IN INDIA AND ORS., Diary No. 14199-2025
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