BCCI sacks Lalit Modi as IPL commissioner

Lalit Modi’s high-flying journey as IPL Commissioner came to an end as the BCCI decided to suspend him moments after the final of IPL-III.

Zeecric Bureau

Mumbai: Lalit Modi’s high-flying journey as the Indian Premier League Commissioner came to an end as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to suspend him moments after the final of IPL-III here on Sunday. According to sources, the controversial IPL chief has been served with suspension letter via an e-mail to thwart him from attending the meeting of IPL governing council slated to be held on Monday. Lalit Modi, who has been under tremendous pressure to resign ever since he revealed the ownership patterns of IPL Kochi franchisee on his twitter account two weeks back that led to Shashi Tharoor’s ouster as Union Minister, was suspended for alleged financial irregularities that took place in several dealings in the IPL. First, it was decided that Modi would be sacked in the governing council meeting on Monday but his continual rebellious attitude against the BCCI officials precipitated his ouster. Earlier in the day, Lalit Modi said he would attend and chair Monday`s Governing Council (GC) meeting with a single-point agenda of hearing charges against him and any other GC member. The move took the influential GC members by surprise as they had readied plans to sack Modi on charges of alleged fiscal and other organisational irregularities in running the affairs of the IPL, whose brand is valued at Rs. 18,000 crore (USD 4.13 billion). The nationwide tax raids have allegedly unearthed financial bunglings and at the centre of the controversy is Modi, who has been accused of having silent stakes in at least three IPL franchises. With BCCI`s own image also taking a hit due to the IPL row, miffed Board bigwigs boycotted the IPL awards. Board president Shashank Manohar, secretary N Srinivasan and IPL vice-chairman Niranjan Shah gave the Twenty20 League`s final at the D Y Patil Stadium this evening a miss as well due the current imbroglio. Incidentally, Srinivasan is the MD and vice-chairman of India Cements, which owns the Chennai Super Kings, who won the summit clash against Mumbai Indians. The trio, along with BCCI CAO Prof. Ratnakar Shetty, reached the Board`s headquarters inside the Wankhede Stadium Sunday morning presumably to finalise details about Modi`s ouster.Modi has taken a defiant stand and refused to quit the IPL chairman`s post. While Modi has been making his views public through twitter, the BCCI officials have been engaged in closed-door meetings, albeit informally, to work out their plan of action for Monday`s meeting. His support base in the BCCI might be non-exsistent but Modi had found the backing of IPL franchise owners, who felt the league`s conceptualiser had become the victim of a media trial and deserves a chance to explain himself. Modi had, infact, requested that the meeting be deferred by five days to allow him to prepare his case but the BCCI was having none of it. The extent to which Modi has been marginalised can be gauged from the fact that the Champions League Twenty20, of which Modi is the chairman, held a meeting without him.The Board`s constitution empowers its Disciplinary Committee "to inquire into and deal with the matters relating to any act of indiscipline or misconduct or violation of any of the Rules and Regulations of any player, umpire, team official, administrator, selector or any other person appointed or employed by the BCCI." The constitution says that a Disciplinary Committee shall be appointed at every AGM, and it will consist of three persons, one of who shall be the president. The members of this powerful committee are not known as after the last AGM in Mumbai the Board revealed the names of other committees` members barring this one. Section 32 (i) of the BCCI constitution also empowers the Board "to frame bye-laws regarding the discipline and conduct of the players, umpires, team officials, administrators, referees and selectors and shall have a power to amend the same from time to time." Subsection iv of the BCCI Memorandum and Rules and Regulations deals with the act of indiscipline or misconduct by an administrator of the Board. It says that "if any administrator of the BCCI commits any act of indiscipline or misconduct or acts in any manner which may or likely to be detrimental to the interest of the Board or the game of cricket or endanger the harmony or affect the reputation or interest of the Board or refuses or neglects to comply with any of the provisions of the Memorandum and/or the Rules of conduct framed by the Board, the secretary, in consultation with the president, issue a show cause notice to that person asking for explanation." The matter is then referred to the Disciplinary Committee which conducts a hearing and submits its findings to the BCCI which would in turn call for a SGM to "take appropriate decision by majority of 3/4th members present and voting". If an administrator is found guilty and expelled consequent to this, he or she cannot hold any position or office or be admitted in any committee or any member or associate member of the Board. The expelled person can make a comeback after three years provided his or her readmission is voted in by 3/4th at a general body meeting. Pending such inquiry, the person would be suspended by the president from "participating in any of the affairs of the Board until final adjudication". The adjudication should be completed within six months.