Lalit Modi gets third show-cause notice from BCCI

It was a day of notices, showcause and defamation suit in l’affaire Lalit Modi. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday shot off another showcause notice to the suspended chairman of the Indian Premier League.

It’s the third notice since Modi was suspended on April 26 and the charges this time were on irregularities in the deals pertaining to sale of theatrical rights and strategic time-out.

Modi, on his part, served notice on England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke, on whose complaint the BCCI had a served a second showcause on him. The Modi camp was also finalising its reply to the notice. It is expected to be mailed to top BCCI officials and handed over to them on Tuesday. Clarke had accused Modi of plotting against English cricket and scheming to start a parallel IPL in England.

A top BCCI official confirmed to DNA that a third showcause notice was sent to Modi without elaborating. The irregularities in the theatrical rights deal with Mauritius-based Entertainment & Sports Direct (ESD) for Rs330 crore was not known but Board sources have said the papers on strategic time-out and mid-over television slots, sold to Kunal Dasgupta, former CEO of Sony television, are missing.

“We have no papers on that deal. We do not know where to collect the money from,” said a Board official.

Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi confirmed receiving the third notice but refrained from making a statement. “I’ll have to study the notice before passing a comment on it. We will deal with it,” he said, confirming that the reply to the second showcause notice was being sent. Monday is the last day for reply.

In his reply, Modi, who is currently out of the country, is believed to have cited instances for which Clarke may have complained against him. According to a Modi aide, Clarke turned against the former IPL chairman as he “did not allow ECB to be part of Champions League T20 Governing Council”.

Besides, Modi camp claims that Clarke holds a grudge against him after Clarke’s attempts to launch a franchise-based T20 league failed to take off in England. Modi also pointed out that there was no clandestine deal as most counties have open come out on this issue.

The defamation notice was sent to Clarke through Modi’s London-based solicitors Carter-Ruck and it has given the ECB chief seven days’ time to provide a “full and unconditional apology and retraction in a form, manner and terms to be agreed upon.”