Supreme Court dismisses Lalit Modi's plea, BCCI can go ahead with special general meeting

Ex-IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi's last hopes for staying BCCI's SGM to consider a disciplinary panel report on him for alleged financial irregularities in the cricket league were on Wednesday dashed with the Supreme Court refusing to interfere in the matter.

After the Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed BCCI to hold the Special General Meeting (SGM), Modi, facing the threat of life ban from the Indian Cricket Board, rushed to the apex court which dismissed his plea, saying it is an internal matter of the cricketing body.

A bench of justices H L Gokhale and J Chelameshwar asked Modi to appear at the SGM and give an explanation on the allegations levelled against him.

"Anybody who has been issued notice should go and give explanation. You may be exonerated or be given lighter punishment. Anything can happen. You go in the meeting and give explanation," the bench said.

"It(BCCI) is an internal management of society and we cannot keep interfering in it. Its a total matter of internal management," the bench further said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Modi, contended that the convening of meeting itself is illegal as it can be done only by the BCCI president and there is no president for the Board at the moment.

The bench, however, was not satisfied with his arguments and dismissed the plea.

"Just because big shot and big money are involved in the case, court should not interfere in the matter," the bench said.

The apex court said that Modi may challenge any decision taken against him at the meeting before appropriate forum.

Modi moved the apex court today for an urgent hearing in the matter and a bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi had asked him to mention it before the bench concerned at 2 PM.

He had challenged the order of the Delhi High Court which had yesterday allowed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hold the meeting while vacating the stay granted by a trial court.

BCCI had moved the high court challenging trial court's September 21 order restraining it from holding its SGM, contending that lower court had no jurisdiction to pass such an order as the meeting is scheduled to be held in Chennai.

The high court, while allowing BCCI to hold its meeting today, had said, "The decision of SGM is subject to the decision of the suit pending before the trial court." The high court had also dismissed Modi's cross-appeal against the decision of the lower court which had declined to pass an interim order on his petition challenging the appointment of Sanjay Patel as Secretary and Jagmohan Dalmiya as the interim chief of BCCI by N Srinivasan.

On September 21, the trial court had in an ex-parte order restrained BCCI from holding its SGM on Modi's plea challenging Patel's authority as BCCI Secretary in issuing the September 2 notices to him for considering the report of a three-member disciplinary committee comprising Arun Jaitley, Chirayu Amin and Jyotiraditya Scindia on September 25.

In his cross-appeal, Modi had contended that the September 2 notice issued to him was without authority as Patel was not authorised and it was issued on the instructions of Srinivasan who, in the wake of IPL spot-fixing scam in which his son-in-law is an accused, had chosen not to perform the functions of BCCI President.

Modi was the IPL Chairman-cum-Commissioner during the first three editions of the tournament but was suspended immediately after the closing ceremony in 2010 on charges of financial irregularities in running the league as well as improper practices during the auction of two new teams before the third edition.