A Sole Arbitrator Awarded Rs 4800 Crore To Deccan Chronicle Holdings:
In a long-drawn dispute, the sun has finally risen for owners of Deccan Chargers on Friday. A sole arbitrator awarded Rs 4800 crore to Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL) in its dispute against Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over what it alleged was an illegal termination of the former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise team from Hyderabad.
The Hyderabad franchise, Deccan Chargers, finished in 2012. DC, who won the second IPL, was one of the first eight IPL teams. In September 2012, Bombay High Court appointed the arbitrator to determine whether or not the BCCI termination notice to the team of “irremediable infringements” was valid.
The company opposed the termination of BCCI because of questions regarding the financial health of the company. At the time, HC also ordered DCHL to provide a bank guarantee of Rs 100 crore in 10 days. BCCI had stated in 2012 that players had not been paid and that many banks were franchise creditors with collective fees of more than Rs 4000 crore outstanding against DCHL. Over the course of eight long years, though arbitration was ongoing, insolvency proceedings against the firm had begun over 2017. Insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code have delayed the arbitral proceedings for two years. Finally, in what may have seemed like a long-drawn test match, to the parties, the sole arbitrator former Supreme Court Judge C K Thakker, through a virtual proceeding pronounced orally.
Ashish Pyasi of Dhir and Dhir Associates, a law firm representing DC, said that its claim of wrongful termination was upheld and that BCCI was given time until the end of September to pay the sum. Viraj Maniar of Maniar Srivastava Associates, the BCCI law firm, said, “A comprehensive copy of the award is required. Once it is obtained, it will be reviewed and the next course of action will be determined by BCCI.”
