Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday imposed a cost of Rs1 lakh on former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi for filing a “frivolous and wholly misconceived” petition. Modi had sought directions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay a penalty of Rs 10.65 crore imposed on him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Modi in his plea said he was appointed as Vice President of the BCCI and during that period he was also appointed Chairman of the IPL governing body, a subcommittee of the BCCI. As per the by-laws, the BCCI is required to indemnify Modi, the plea claimed.

A division bench of Justices M S Sonak and Jitendra Jain, however, referred to a Supreme Court judgment of 2005 which said that BCCI does not fall under the definition of 'State' as defined under Article 12 of the Constitution of India. The bench noted that despite clear orders from the apex court, Modi has filed this petition in 2018.

“In matters of alleged indemnification of the petitioner (Modi) in the context of penalties imposed upon the petitioner by the ED, there is no question of discharge of any public function, and therefore, for this purpose, no writ could be issued to the BCCI,” HC said.

It added: “In any event, the reliefs are wholly misconceived. This petition is frivolous, and accordingly, we dismiss this petition.” The bench directed Modi to pay a sum of Rs 1 lakh to the Tata Memorial Hospital within four weeks.

On May 31, 2018, the ED had slapped a penalty of Rs 121.56 crore on BCCI, its former Chairman N. Srinivasan, Modi and others for alleged violation of the FEMA during the second edition of the cash-rich Twenty-20 cricket tournament in South Africa. A penalty of Rs 82.66 crore was levied on BCCI, Rs 11.53 crore on its former boss Srinivasan, Rs 10.65 crore on Modi, Rs 9.72 crore on former BCCI treasurer M.P. Pandove, Rs 7 crore on the State Bank of Travancore and Rs 10 lakh penalty on then Chief Manager. The transfer of funds allegedly violated RBI guidelines for foreign remittances, as per the FEMA adjudicating authority.