Apex court adjourns Lalit Modi case till Nov 11

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Wednesday adjourned till Nov 11 the hearing on former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi’s petition challenging the composition of the Disciplinary Committee probing charges of financial irregularities against him.

A bench of Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice H.L. Gokhale adjourned the hearing after senior counsel Ram Jethmalani appearing for Lalit Modi pleaded for it.

However, senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi appearing for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the court that it should be recorded that adjournment was sought by the petitioner (Lalit Modi) and not the respondent (BCCI).

He said this was necessary as its connotations are read differently.

The court said that the matter would come up for hearing Nov 11.

Emerging from the courtroom, Ram Jethmalani said the efforts to hammer out a settlement between Lalit Modi and the BCCI have not succeeded and now matter would be argued on merits.

“Attempts for a settlement, despite the best efforts, did not succeed,” Jethmalani said.

During the last hearing Oct 21, the Supreme Court had asked the BCCI and Lalit Modi to work out a compromise on the composition of the Disciplinary Committee.

The apex court had given both the BCCI and Lalit Modi six days to arrive at a compromise on the composition of the Disciplinary Committee.

During the last hearing, Jethmalani had informed the court that they were working out a settlement and if it failed, the hearing on the matter could go on.

The matter got further credence following a meeting between Jethmalani and Disciplinary Committee member Arun Jaitley Oct 20, 2010. The BCCI admitted to the meeting but said that no proposal for patch up was on the table.