Supreme Court asks BCCI view on IPL media rights

Source – thehindu.com

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to respond to a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to e-auction the media rights of the Indian Premier League.

A Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra asked the Board to file its reply within two weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on August 22 before the tender process concludes.

Dr. Swamy said that e-auction of the media rights should be done to ensure transparency, as it was to be given for the next five years.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for the chief executive officer of the Board, said the tender process had been approved by Vinod Rai, Chairman of the apex court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA).

The court also asked Parag Tripathi, counsel for CoA in the main BCCI matter pending before the court, to assist.

Dr. Swamy contended that the amount involved in the award of IPL media rights was ₹30,000 crore and the issue should not be decided in an “opaque” manner.