Bombay High Court Rejects Lalit Modi's Plea, Labels It "Frivolous"

The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition filed by former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, in which he sought the BCCI's help to pay a Rs 10.65 crore penalty imposed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The court also fined Modi Rs 1 lakh for filing what it called a "misconceived and frivolous" case.

The division bench of Justices M S Sonak and Jitendra Jain clarified that the penalty was personally levied on Modi by the FEMA adjudication authority. His argument that the BCCI should cover the amount under its bylaws was rejected.

The court referred to a 2005 Supreme Court ruling, which stated that the BCCI is not a "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution and cannot be held accountable for such matters. The HC also pointed out that Modi filed this plea in 2018 despite clear directions from the Supreme Court on similar issues.