Ravindra Jadeja’s former IPL franchise to get Rs 5380000000 from BCCI, here’s why

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) faced a significant setback as the Bombay High Court upheld an arbitral award exceeding Rs 538 crores in favor of the former Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Kochi Tuskers Kerala. This ruling, delivered on Tuesday (17 June), pertains to a lengthy dispute regarding the team's abrupt termination from the Indian Premier League fourteen years ago. The BCCI's challenge to the award was dismissed by a single-judge bench led by Justice R.I. Chagla, who determined that a court is not permitted to reevaluate the conclusions made by an arbitral tribunal.

“BCCI’s dissatisfaction as to the findings rendered in respect of the evidence and/or the merits cannot be a ground to assail the award,” the court observed.

“The arbitrator’s conclusion that the BCCI’s termination of the Kochi franchise was a repudiatory breach of contract would call for no interference… this is based on a correct appreciation of the evidence on record.”

In 2010, Kochi was awarded the IPL franchise for a sum of Rs 1550 crores, to be paid over a period of 10 years. Unfortunately, the team did not endure for long, participating in only one season in 2011, which was managed by KCPL, a consortium led by RSW. This consortium included Anchor Earth Pvt. Ltd. (31.45%), Parinee Developers Pvt. Ltd. (30.27%), Rendezvous Sports World (10%), Anand Shyam Estates (9.31%), and Vivek Venugopal (5%).

In 2011, the franchise failed to provide a renewed bank guarantee of 10 percent, approximately Rs 156 crores, for the upcoming season due to internal disputes regarding ownership, concerns over venue availability, and delays from regulators. Meanwhile, BCCI insisted on a new six-month guarantee, utilizing an existing guarantee of Rs 153 crores.

In 2015, a tribunal led by R.C. Lahoti, the then Chief Justice of India, ruled in favor of the franchise, awarding KCPL 384 crore rupees in damages for lost profits and directing BCCI to pay RSW 153 crore rupees in losses with interest. BCCI subsequently appealed to the Bombay High Court, contesting the award on the grounds that the tribunal had exceeded its jurisdiction and awarded an excessive amount of damages beyond what was stipulated in the contract. They also questioned RSW's standing under the Partnership Act.

In their sole season, the franchise concluded in eighth place in the 10-team standings, having secured six victories out of 14 league matches. Alongside Hodge, Mahela Jayawardene, Brendon McCullum, and Ravindra Jadeja all participated for the franchise during their singular IPL season.

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