Unhappy BCCI to appeal against hefty CCI penalty

The Board of Control for Cricket in India is "very unhappy" with Fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India's decision to impose a hefty penalty of Rs 52.24 crore for indulging in anti-competitive practices and is planning to seek legal recourse in this regard.

- BCCI slapped Rs 52cr fine for unfair trade practices

"We at BCCI do not agree with the findings of the Competition Commission. The BCCI doesn't need to indulge in any sort of anti-comptitive practice and we are very unhappy with this decision.

"We are planning to seek legal recourse and appeal against the decision," a senior BCCI office-bearer said.

Observing that BCCI abused its dominant position, the Competition Commission of India directed it to "cease and desist" from any practice in future denying market access to potential competitors, including inclusion of similar clauses in any future agreement.

“The abuse by BCCI was of a grave nature and the quantum of penalty that needs to be levied should be commensurate with the gravity of the violation," CCI said in an order.

The complaint was filed by a city-based individual, Surinder Singh Barmi against BCCI in November 2010. His allegations were based on issues related to IPL and a professional cricket league tournament conducted by BCCI.