The Bombay High Court has dismissed the petitions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) challenging arbitral awards of over Rs 538 crore in favour of the now-defunct Indian Premier League franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala.In the order passed on Tuesday, Justice R Chagla said there is no “patent illegality” in the arbitral awards that requires the court’s intervention.The Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise had been awarded to a consortium led by Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) and later operated by Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL). The team participated in the IPL in 2011, but their contract was subsequently terminated by the BCCI. The dispute revolved around the BCCI’s decision to end the agreements on the grounds that KCPL and RSW allegedly failed to furnish a requisite bank guarantee.The KCPL and RSW initiated arbitration proceedings in 2012, calling the termination wrongful.Other contentious issues included matters concerning stadium availability and a reduction in the number of matches. An arbitral tribunal ruled in their favour in 2015.It directed BCCI to pay KCPL Rs 384.83 crore, along with 18 percent interest from September 19, 2011, and Rs 72 lakh towards arbitration costs.
