HC dismisses PIL against BCCI's revenue share

The Madras high court, on Wednesday, dismissed a PIL filed by former CBI director R K Raghavan and others to restrain the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its chairman Shashank Manohar from effecting any adverse changes which will reduce the board’s share of revenue from the International Cricket Council.

After hearing elaborate arguments by Vijaynarayan, senior counsel for Raghavan, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh, dismissed the PIL.

The petitioners had submitted that the BCCI, which is entitled to 21 per cent of gross revenue of the ICC for the cycle broadcast 2015-23, will be receiving at least Rs 1,000 crore less due to Manohar's "unilateral offer" for a six per cent cut in the revenue-sharing model.

They said they filed the petition based on newspaper reports and details furnished by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), a member of the BCCI.

On April 18, when the matter came up before a bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice S Vaidyanathan, the judges questioned whether the petition could be entertained as a PIL since it was a private agreement between two parties.

The bench then asked the counsel for the petitioners whether he would like to withdraw the petition or want the court to pass orders.