Mr Modi may be asked to step down at a meeting of the IPL governing council likely on April 26. It has been learnt that if he refuses to step down, the BCCI will convene an emergency AGM and pass a resolution to oust the IPL commissioner.
Meanwhile, apart from the income-tax department, officials from the Enforcement Directorate and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence too will question Mr Modi, sources said. The move comes in the wake of reported allegations that a few IPL officials might be engaged in betting on international websites. Betting is legal abroad.
Mr Modi, who had been to Dubai to meet the Kochi franchise consortium chairman, Mr Harshad Mehta, on Sunday, was to meet I-T officials at his Worli office in Mumbai on Monday. “The I-T officials wanted a few clarifications from him regarding a few missing documents, but the meeting could not take place,” a source said.
Reports of the possible involvement of a few IPL officials in gambling on international betting sites have now prompted even DRI officials to visit the IPL office. “DRI officials may question Mr Modi, seeking clarifications on the betting done on IPL matches by a few IPL officials,” he said.
The sources said the authorities would also check whether rules under the Companies Act of 1956 had been flouted.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will seek to thrash out issues related to the Kochi franchise and the ensuing allegations against IPL commissioner Lalit Modi at its working committee meeting on May 2. That meeting would be preceded by an IPL governing council meeting likely to be held on April 26, the day after the IPL final.
“All allegations and other issues would be first discussed at the IPL council meeting, which is likely to take place on April 26. Then the BCCI working committee will take a decision in its meeting on May 2,” BCCI media and finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla told reporters in New Delhi.
The working committee meeting was originally scheduled for April 24 in Mumbai, but was postponed to “fully understand the issues”.
“All the things have to be discussed in the IPL governing council meeting first. We have to fully understand the issues regarding IPL first. There is no point in having a working committee meeting before that,” he added.
Mr Shukla said the BCCI was capable of handling the issue. “Every organisation goes through issues, but there is a solution for the same. Wait for the IPL governing council meeting. The BCCI is the right forum ... and I hope the board will come out with a satisfactory decision,” he said.
Asked about reports that Mr Modi’s wings are set to be clipped, Mr Shukla said it was media speculation. “We are not aware of anything. We are reading all this in media reports. Even the BCCI president (Shashank Manohar) is getting to know all of this from media reports,” he said.
Age Correspondents