Setback for BCCI, HC directs board to pay Rs 538 crore to Kochi Tuskers  

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suffered a major setback in the expulsion of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala team from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Bombay High Court has upheld the arbitral tribunal's verdict that ordered the BCCI to pay Rs 538 crore to the Tuskers. The High Court passed the verdict after dismissing BCCI's appeal.

The BCCI expelled the Tuskers from the IPL in 2011, alleging breach of contract, after playing one season. The BCCI had rejected the demand of the Tuskers team for no compensation and be allowed to play in the IPL. After this, the matter reached the arbitral tribunal.

The problems started when the BCCI unilaterally collected the bank guarantee amount of Rs 156 crore that the Tuskers team had given for their entry into the IPL. The BCCI expelled the Tuskers in September 2011 for breach of contract after they refused to comply with the order to provide a new guarantee within six months. Following this, the team owner Rendezvous Sports World approached the Arbitral tribunal. Subsequently, a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge R P Lahoti, which considered the Tuskers' plea alleging that the bank guarantee was unfairly collected, directed the BCCI to pay compensation to the Tuskers in July 2015.