Court Directs BCCI to Pay INR 539 Crore Over Kochi Tuskers Keralamination Ter Issue

The BCCI has been ordered to pay INR 385.50 crore to Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL) and INR 153.34 crore to Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) following the termination of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL franchise in 2011. The Bombay High Court upheld the arbitral awards made against the BCCI in 2015 on Tuesday.

Thei Koch franchise, co-owned by KCPL and RSW, competed in one IPL season in 2011, finishing eighth out of ten teams. In September 2011, the BCCI terminated the franchise, alleging that it had breached its terms of agreement by failing to provide a bank guarantee by the stipulated deadline. This led to arbitration proceedings between the two parties.

Justice Riyaz I. Chagla dismissed the BCCI's challenge to the arbitrator's award, stating, "The jurisdiction of this Court under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act is very limited. BCCI's attempt to delve into the merits of the dispute is beyond the scope of the grounds contained in Section 34 of the Act. The BCCI's dissatisfaction with the findings regarding the evidence and/or the merits cannot be a ground to assail the Award."

He added, "The conclusion of the learned Arbitrator that the BCCI had wrongfully invoked the bank guarantee, which amounted to a repudiatory breach of the KCPL-FA, would call for no interference under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act, considering that it is based on a correct appreciation of the evidence on record."

The BCCI has been granted six weeks to file an appeal.