The Bombay High Court issued a notice to two management companies involved in an arbitration dispute with the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly, seeking reasoning as to why contempt of court action should not be brought against them for non-compliance with the Court’s orders in Ganguly’s execution proceedings.
Justice BP Colabawalla issued the order in response to Ganguly’s request for enforcement of an arbitral award of over 35 crores payable by his former management companies, Percept Talent Management Ltd. and Percept D Mark (India) Ltd. One of the management companies, Tiger Sports Management Limited, a garnishee in the transaction, was ordered by the High Court to deposit 62 lakh with the High Court, which was due and payable to Percept D.
However, because the company had not followed the company rules, the Court issued a notice to the directors, asking them to explain why a contempt charge should not be brought against them. During the hearing, it was also brought to the Court’s attention that Percept Limited had made an entry in their account books that effectively wrote off receivables from its debtors, despite the High Court’s orders.
The Court served notice on the directors of Percept Limited, asking them to explain why they should not be held in contempt for violating the Court’s orders. Senior Advocate Dr Birendra Saraf also informed the Court that Percept Ltd. had been ordered to pay Percept D Mark 1.2 crore
That amount, however, had been reduced to 64 lakhs without justification. The parties’ dispute arose from a “Player Representation Agreement” under which the respondent companies were to act as Ganguly’s exclusive manager. The agreement was terminated after disputes arose between the parties, and Ganguly had invoked the arbitration clause in the agreement after being aggrieved by such alleged illegal termination.
In the absence of a stay on the award’s implementation and execution, Ganguly filed an application in the Calcutta High Court for the award’s execution. The respondent companies admitted to paying 2.07 crores during the pendency of this execution application. Ganguly raised concerns in his application that the respondent companies’ directors have systematically channelled funds from their accounts to other companies.