A Court appointed arbitrator passed an award in the matter between BCCI and Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd. (DCHL) directing Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay DCHL Rs. 4800 crore for wrongful termination of the team ‘Deccan Chargers’ owned by DCHL. The case began in 2012 when DCHL challenged the illegal termination of their team ‘Deccan Chargers’ by BCCI. Deccan Chargers was an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. IPL is a cricket tournament organized by BCCI where teams pick a mix of Indian and foreigner players and play a T20 tournament to win the prestigious competition. Deccan Chargers happen to have won the IPL in the very first season of the IPL and came in the top 3 in the second year of the tournament. But it did not feature in the third season as it got terminated for certain reasons. The team has had many reputed and sublime players in the team right from Kumar Sangakara, Adam Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, to name a few.
The team was terminated on 15th September, 2012 right after an emergency meeting of the league’s governing council. DCHL moved the Bombay High Court on the grounds of wrongful termination but the board initiated a new tender for the team which Sun TV Network won. Bombay High Court appointed retired Supreme Court Justice C. K. Thakkar as the sole arbitrator in the arbitration proceedings. On 17th July, 2020 the award was passed which directed BCCI to make a total payment of Rs. 4800 crore to DCHL by September, 2020. Since the arbitration proceedings began before the Amendment of 2015, there was no time limitation on the proceedings. This arbitration is an example why the amendment of 2015 was required and how has it transformed the arbitration proceedings in the nation. By establishing a stipulated time period to pass an award, the proceedings have quickened in India. No judicial proceeding should take this long especially not arbitrations which are considered a substitute to time taking tiring litigation.
