A division bench of Rajasthan High Court comprising Chief Justice SS Shinde and Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand while dealing with the case of Rajasthan Royal's default to pay the money to the Police Officials deployed during IPL Match, ordered to give some more time to Counsels of Rajasthan Royals to seek instructions in the matter.
Background:
This case relates to Rajasthan Royals' failure to pay over 850 police officials who were deployed during 2011 Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, amicus curiae Abhishek Sharma has informed the High Court that the dues add up to Rs.6,98,86,753/-, and there is no compliance by the franchise cricket team.He stated that the aforesaid amount was payable by the Franchise to the State under an agreement, however, the same has not been deposited yet.
Observation of the Court:
Court took the notice of the fact that this case against Rajasthan Royals was initiated suo moto in April 2019, on the basis of a newspaper report published in Dainik Bhaskar, revealing that 850 to 980 police officials were deployed, including 18 senior officers belonging to the cadre of Rajasthan Police Services and 52 Inspectors, on the day the IPL match was held. The report stated that an amount of more than 6.99 Crore, due to the police force, has not been paid by the sponsors of IPL who earn huge revenue by holding the matches.
In this case, the Court had also issued notices to the State of Rajasthan, Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
On April 28, the Court made Rajasthan Royals a party to the proceedings on being informed by the Counsels that the liability to pay an outstanding amount of Rs.3,28,36,753/- is on the franchise.
Moreover, the Court was also informed that a total amount which was payable to the State under agreement with the franchise was Rs. 6,98,86,753/- out of which, as per the State's reply, Rs.3,70,50,000/- has already been paid.
The High Court had asked the Franchise to file a reply explaining its actions to which it ordered,
"Learned Amicus Curiae invites our attention to the order passed by this Court dated 28/04/2022 and submitted that there is no compliance by respondent No.4 inasmuch as the total amount of Rs.6,98,86,753/-, which was payable by respondent No.4 to the State under agreement has not been deposited,"
Case Title: Suo Motu v. State Of Rajasthan
Bench: Chief Justice SS Shinde and Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand
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