Bombay HC Dismisses BCCI’s Appeals on ₹538 Crore Arbitration Rulings in Favor of Defunct IPL Team Kochi Tuskers

The Bombay High Court has rejected the petitions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that challenged arbitral awards exceeding ₹538 crore in favor of the now-defunct Indian Premier League franchise, Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

In the ruling issued on Tuesday, Justice R Chagla stated that there is no “patent illegality” in the arbitral awards necessitating intervention from the court.

The Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise was awarded to a consortium led by Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) and was later managed by Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL).
The team competed in the IPL in 2011, but their contract was eventually terminated by the BCCI.

The conflict arose from the BCCI’s decision to terminate the agreements, claiming that KCPL and RSW had allegedly failed to provide a necessary bank guarantee.

In 2012, KCPL and RSW initiated arbitration proceedings, arguing that the termination was unwarranted.

Additional contentious issues included concerns regarding stadium availability and a decrease in the number of matches.

An arbitral tribunal ruled in their favor in 2015.

The tribunal ordered BCCI to pay KCPL ₹384.83 crore, along with 18 percent interest from September 19, 2011, and ₹72 lakh for arbitration costs.

For RSW, it instructed BCCI to return ₹153.34 crore, the amount of a “wrongfully” encashed bank guarantee, with 18 percent interest from the date of contract termination.

In its submissions to the high court, BCCI, represented by senior counsel Rafiq A Dada, argued that the arbitration awards were “perverse and contrary to substantive Indian law.” He claimed the awards violated contract terms and were against public policy.

The BCCI’s petitions contended that the arbitrator overlooked key evidence and the contract terms.

Conversely, KCPL and RSW, through their legal counsel, argued that the BCCI’s termination of the agreements was premature and constituted a wrongful and repudiatory breach.

After reviewing the arguments from all sides, the high court concluded that “there is no patent irregularity in the impugned awards” that warrants its intervention.

The high court dismissed the BCCI’s petitions, stating they lack “merit.”

The court has permitted KCPL and RSW to access the funds previously deposited by the BCCI in this matter, four weeks after the order is uploaded. However, with the BCCI requesting time to contest the order, the court extended the initial four-week period for the withdrawal of the funds by an additional two weeks.