Lalit Modi has replied to the second show cause notice served on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The reply, earlier mailed to the BCCI officials, was also physically submitted at the Board office by his lawyer Mehmood Abdi on Tuesday evening.
The Modi camp then accused the BCCI of harassing him through show-cause notices. Abdi said the BCCI’s action was a sort of counterblast for the recusal notice given by Modi on BCCI president Shashank Manohar and secretary N Srinivasan.
“We are prepared to reply to as many notices but what I wish mention here is that the disciplinary process should not be misused,” Abdi told DNA.
The Board has so far served three showcause notices on Modi. “It’s now clear that there is nothing unsatisfactory in our reply to the first showcause notice. We will not be cowed down by pressure tactics. If they (BCCI bigwigs) delay the process of justice, we can go to court to have the process expedited,” Abdi said.
The first showcause notice was issued on April 25 with allegations of financial irregularities and bid rigging in the IPL. The second notice was sent on May 6 with charges that he “tried to start a parallel IPL in England”. The third notice, sent on Monday, dwelt on the sale of theatrical rights and 150-second mid-over commercial breaks during IPL-III.
“The 3rd notice is an afterthought. Our main line of defence is that Lalit has nothing to hide,” Abdi said, terming the second showcause notice as akin to the game of ‘Chinese whisper’.
