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Abolish IPL. Now

Dear Friends

I do not love cricket and never pay

attention to it. In fact, I must have

watched less than 5 minutes of IPL-

3. But now, thanks to relentlessmedia reporting (to the exclusion of

everything else), I was forced to

learn a few things about the IPL and

I am quite concerned to note why

on earth does anybody think that

IPLs conduct and transaction is

legal here?

BCCI is not merely regulated by the

Government but is in receipt of

facilities and infrastructure

belonging to the Government. BCCI

is also in receipt of exclusive rights

to represent the nation in approved

sports and tournaments. This much

has been held, by Courts, to restrain

BCCI from acting arbitrarily, on

prior occasions.

And the IPL is merely a committee

within the BCCI. So, how could IPL

covenant with anybody at all to

grant them confidentiality in the

matter of dealing with IPL, BCCI or

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in the matter of use of facilities

leased to BCCI by the Government?

It is out of question, for an agency of

the Government to offer facilities

entrusted to it by the Government

to another person who refuses to

identify himself and seeks

confidentiality. This is because, as a

recipient of Government largesse,

the public does have a right to know

about the person who is conferred

with public such public privileges.

So, the reasonable thing for the

BCCI here would be to wind up IPL

altogether. Of course, all monies

received by IPL will have to be

refunded to the contributors to the

extent not already spent in

proportion to the contribution by

individual IPL owners and others.

Can those losing money here sue IPL

or the BCCI for recovery of their

complete money spent on it? Well, if

IPL is abolished, IPL cannot be sued

at all as it would have become a

non-existent entity in the eyes ofthe law. The BCCI could be sued but,

unsuccessfully. BCCI could take the

claim of mistake of law. A mistake

of law is a good ground to void

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(close and cancel out) contracts. At

any rate, now that the cat is out of

the bag, be prepared to see one of

two things if the confidentiality

clause is central to the IPL and that

owners would choose to forsake IPL

than to reveal their identity, then,

IPL will have to be disbanded

because the central theme of the IPL

agreement has become frustrated.

On the other hand, should all parties

try to bury this controversy right

today and wish to carry on, the fact

that too much dirt is now open, IPL

could be stranded with numerous

legal claims and find the future

difficult, if not altogether

impossible.

Regards

K.V.Dhananjay

Advocate

Supreme Court of India