MUMBAI: The court on Tuesday ordered the BCCI to pay ₹385.50 crore ($44.6 million) to Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL) and ₹153.34 crore ($17.7 million) to Rendezvous Sports World (RSW), the co-owners of the Kochi franchise, effectively closing a long-standing legal battle that has stretched over a decade.

The Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which participated in just one season of the Indian Premier League in 2011 and finished eighth out of ten teams, was terminated by the BCCI in September that year. The board cited the franchise’s failure to furnish a bank guarantee within the stipulated timeframe as grounds for termination. This led to arbitration proceedings initiated by the franchise owners.

Justice Riyaz I. Chagla, presiding over the case, dismissed BCCI’s challenge to the arbitral award, stating that the board’s attempt to contest the findings was beyond the limited scope allowed under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act.

“The conclusion of the learned Arbitrator namely that BCCI had wrongfully invoked the bank guarantee which amounted to a repudiatory breach of the KCPL-FA would call for no interference under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act considering that this is based on a correct appreciation of the evidence on record,” the court observed, backing the arbitrator’s interpretation of the evidence.

The ruling confirms that the BCCI’s action constituted a breach of contract, and the court maintained that the arbitral awards delivered in 2015 were based on a sound assessment of the case.

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