BCCI disciplinary meet today, Modi to skip again

The BCCI`s disciplinary committee will meet to continue its probe into alleged financial irregularities by Lalit Modi.

New Delhi: The BCCI`s disciplinary committee meets here on Tuesday to continue its probe into alleged financial irregularities by suspended IPL chief Lalit Modi, who would once again skip the proceedings.

Modi will be represented by his lawyers who are seeking the recusal of Chirayu Amin and Arun Jaitley from the disciplinary panel. The three-member disciplinary panel, comprising Amin, Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia, last met on July 16 and allowed Modi to be represented by his lawyers.The exception was made after Modi`s second counsel Venkatesh Dhond explained that the charges against the administrator were of a serious nature and complex legal issues were involved, particularly in relation to interpretation of contract documents. The BCCI, too, has been allowed to send only its lawyers for the hearing. Modi has been pressing for the recusal of Jaitley, a BCCI vice-President, and Amin, the interim IPL chief, contending that being Board office-bearers they would be biased against him during the proceedings. However, he suffered a setback when the Bombay High Court rejected his petition for the reconstitution of the panel. Later, Modi asked the disciplinary committee to provide him with minutes of meetings of the special general body of the board and the IPL governing council held after his suspension.In an application to the disciplinary committee, Modi has also asked for a copy of the amended broadcast agreement between the board and Sony-MSM, they said. "We have asked for some documents. These are crucial to the proceedings which are already underway as the disciplinary committee and the jurisdiction of the disciplinary committee flows from these documents," Modi`s legal counsel Mehmood Abdi said. "It is essential for us to have access to these documents since the contents we`ve asked will have far-reaching implications for us. BCCI should provide us these documents as the same have implications on the co-issue of recusal, which the disciplinary committee is scheduled to finally decide at its meeting on July 27, 2010 in Delhi," he added. At tomorrow`s meeting, Modi`s lawyers are also expected to tell the panel when he would be available in person to attend the proceedings. PTI