By IANS,
Mumbai : The disciplinary committee of the Indian cricket Board Friday decided to allow Lalit Modi, suspended Indian Premier League chairman, to be represented by his legal counsel at the hearing.
Modi, who is facing disciplinary charges by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), asked the panel, through his attorney Mehmood Abdi that since he was out of the country, his counsel should be allowed to represent him.
Modi has been charged on several counts ranging from financial irregularities to bid-rigging as chairman of the cash-rich IPL.
Though the board rules insist on the person facing disciplinary charges should appear in person, the committee concurred with Modi’s second counsel Venkatesh Dhond that the charges against his client were of a serious nature and complex legal issues were involved, particularly in relation to interpretation of the contract documents.
The three-member BCCI committee, comprising Chirayu Amin, Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia, also heard Dhond’s arguments at length on an earlier plea raised for recusal of its members through two letters sent to the BCCI May 25 and July 6 and has decided to seek a response from the Board.
Dhond has also stated that one of members of the panel is a person with a legal background and so Modi should also get legal assistance and the committee felt the plea has “substantial merit.”
“There are complex issues relating to interpretation of documents involved. One of us has a legal background. Additionally we feel that the outcome of the disciplinary enquiry impinges on the reputation of the person against whom the enquiry is being held.
“Even though BCCI’s Memorandum, Rules and Regulations do not contain any stipulation for representation through lawyers of a person against whom the enquiry is being held, it is a matter of the discretion of the disciplinary committee. In view of the complex nature of certain issues involved, interpretation of documents required, and additionally that one of us on the committee has a legal background, we feel that it would be just and fair that Mr. Modi be allowed to be represented through a lawyer in the enquiry,” the committee felt.
The committee, however, told Dhond and Abdi that the panel may require to question Modi in person and so wanted to know if he would be available as and when required.
Modi’s counsel informed the committee that “at this stage they have no instructions to this effect and they would inform us on the next hearing of the committee.”
The BCCI said since it has allowed Modi to be represented by a lawyer, “it would be fair and proper to permit BCCI also to be represented through its lawyer and its authorized representative in the same manner as Modi has been permitted.”
It has also been decided that Modi can file a supplementary plea before Sunday and BCCI’s consolidated response should reach the committee along with advance copy to the representatives of Modi by July 25.
The next hearing of the committee will be held July 27 at 6.00 p.m. at Hotel Taj, Mansingh Road, New Delhi.