Appeal of Gayatri Arts
disposed of

The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the Board of Control for Cricket in India to file an affidavit by June 18 in reply to a petition challenging the award of a clothing sponsorship contract to the International Management Group - Transworld International combine for international matches for the next three years from July 1.

Refusing to stay the contract awarded to IMG and its subsidiary TWI, a bench comprising Justice B N Srikrishna and Justice Nishita Mhatre directed the appellant, Sham Dhumatkar, proprietor of Gayatri Arts, to move a notice of motion before Justice D K Deshmukh.

Justice Deshmukh had in an earlier order also refused to stay the award of the contract.

However, the division bench directed the single judge to dispose of the notice of motion before July 1 when the new contract would come into force.

Gayatri Arts had challenged the BCCI's decision to award the contract to IMG-TWI by way of a petition in the high court. The company claimed that it had made the highest bid of Rs 900 million through a legal tender advertised by the BCCI in a newspaper. Yet, it said, the contract was awarded to the IMG-TWI combine.

Gayatri Arts filed an appeal contending that the judge had failed to take cognizance of the bid made by it which was higher than the one put up by IMG-TWI. Hence awarding the contract to IMG-TWI was bad in law and unjustified, the petitioner claimed.

Gayatri Arts submitted that the BCCI had confirmed the contract to it in a letter on May 3 and gave it 48 hours' notice to accept the offer. Accordingly, Gayatri Arts accepted the contract offer in a letter to BCCI, the court was told.

On May 22, however, BCCI's marketing committee held a second meeting in New Delhi where the contract awarded to Gayatri Arts was resiled and instead awarded to IMG-TWI after an open bidding and revelation of prices.

Gayatri Arts claimed that the contract was complete after the BCCI wrote a letter to them making the offer of contract and the company accepting it in writing.

BCCI, on the other hand, claimed that its communication to Gayatri Arts was not a confirmation letter but a mere 'query'.

BCCI was represented by Advocate General Goolam Vahanvati.