After nearly 14 years, the Bombay High Court has ordered the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay INR 538 crore to the owners of the defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise for wrongful termination from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI abruptly disbanded the franchise, which had just competed in the 2011 season, for suspected breach of contract.
The Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise, founded in 2010, was co-owned by an alliance of Kochi Cricket Private Limited (KCPL) and Rendezvous Sports World.
The squad made their IPL debut in 2011, finishing eighth and led by Mahela Jayawardene. Players included Brendon McCullum, Steve Smith, VVS Laxman, and Ravindra Jadeja.
However, the franchise’s time in the league was cut short in September 2011 when the BCCI terminated the agreement, alleging a failure to provide a mandatory bank guarantee. The judgement prompted KCPL and RSW to commence negotiating proceedings, claiming that the termination was illegal. On June 18, 2025, Justice Riyaz I. Chagla of the Bombay High Court accepted the arbitration decisions granted in 2015, requiring the BCCI to compensate KCPL with INR 385.50 crore and RSW with INR 153.34 crore.
“The court upheld the arbitration. It is now up to the BCCI to decide whether to fight the ruling in the Supreme Court. “The BCCI has up to six weeks,” the BCCI attorney explained.
Justice Chagla rejected the BCCI’s plea under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, ruling that the arbitration was conducted fairly and within legal limitations.
“I am of the considered opinion that there are no valid grounds asserted in KCPL’s and RSW’s Petitions under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act to necessitate an interference with the KCPL and RSW Awards, which have been challenged therein. There is no patent illegality in the assailed awards that warrants this Court to intervene. As a result, Arbitration Petition Nos. 1752 and 1753 of 2015 are dismissed for lack of merit. “KCPL and RSW are permitted to withdraw the amounts deposited by BCCI after four weeks of the uploading of this judgement and Order,” Justice Chagla stated in his 107-page order.
The court also found that BCCI’s invocation of the bank guarantee constituted a rejected breach of the franchise agreement, and so Kochi Tuskers were entitled to the damages granted.
India
