Indian Hockey Confederation asks RBI to stop WC payment to FIH

Alleging breach of contract and intended violation of the Foreign Exchange Act, the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC) has requested the Reserve Bank of India to stop payment of US $500,000 by the 2010 hockey World Cup organisers to the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The IHC, claiming they had signed the original MOU for the World Cup to be held as a joint venture with FIH on November 6, 2007 before the mega event was organised in New Delhi by the Hero Honda World Cup Society, said that releasing the amount would also amount to violation of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Act 1973.

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In his letter to RBI Governor D Subbarao, sent on Tuesday, IHC's lawyer Vijendra S Jabra has claimed that IHC's MoU with FIH signed in November 2007 had also been duly executed and "is valid and subsisting till today and the same has not been terminated".

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The IHC, formed after the merger of the men's Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) -- which has since been derecognised by the FIH -- with the national women's hockey governing body, also claimed that already Rs 7.5 crore had been paid to the FIH by the World Cup organising panel's secretary Narinder Batra, which is also a violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.

The IHC has claimed that as per the MoU it had signed with the FIH, only the title sponsorship amount belongs to the world body and the rest of the revenue, including that from sale of TV rights, belongs to the joint venture organising committee that was to have been formed.     "My client further states that the Hero Honda World Cup society till date haven't audited their Accounts. My Client owns lot of money towards damages from FIH," wrote Jabra, in his letter to the RBI governor.

"And it is therefore requested to you to kindly stop the release of the payment of 5,00,000$ to the FIH as the same is illegal and transferring the same violates the Foreign Exchange regulation Act 1973 as there is a restriction in dealing and transferring with the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act," he added.

"It is therefore requested to you on behalf of my clients that stern and immediate action be initiated in the above matter. It is also requested to you on behalf of my clients that if the immediate action is not taken grave prejudice and loss will be caused to my clients which cannot be compensated in the terms of money," he concluded.