Mumbai: There is no rationale, prima facie, for the Maharashtra government to reduce the fees for police protection provided to cricket matches held in the state since 2011 and to waive the arrears accrued by their organisers, the Bombay High Court has said.
A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar has asked the state government to “justify its decision” while directing the additional chief secretary of the home department to file his affidavit in two weeks.
The HC issued the direction while hearing a PIL by RTI activist Anil Galgali challenging a June 26, 2023, government resolution reducing the police protection fees charged to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and other organisations, resulting in losses to the public exchequer.
“What is this? What are you (government) doing? This is a fee not tax. You will keep on increasing the water tax from slum dwellers and then you waive off the fee for such cricket matches. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is the richest cricket association globally,” the bench remarked.
Galgali’s advcoate VT Dubey submitted that as per a government resolution of 2017, the police protection fee chargeable in Mumbai was Rs 66 lakh per match for T20 and ODI cricket and Rs 55 lakh for Test cricket. Whereas the fees was Rs4 4 lakh for T20 and ODI matches held in Nagpur, Pune and Navi Mumbai, and Rs 38.5 lakh for Test matches.
Further, the plea contended that as per a November 12, 2018, GR, the police protection fee was Rs 70 lakh for T20, Rs 75 lakh for ODI and Rs 60 lakh for Test matches held in Mumbai. For T20 and ODI matches held in Nagpur, Pune and Navi Mumbai the fee was Rs 50 lakh, while for Test matches, it was Rs 40 lakh.
It highlighted that the 2023 circular drastically reduced the fees to Rs 10 lakh for T20 matches and Rs 25 lakh for ODI and Test matches.
Moreover, the organisers have not paid the fee they were liable to pay as per rates fixed under the 2017 and 2018 GR. It adds that over Rs 14.82 crore has to be recovered from the MCA alone in arrears along with 9.5% interest for police protection given to IPL matches held at the Wankhede and Brabourne stadiums between 2013 and 2018.
Government advocate Jyoti Chavan informs the bench that it had sent demand notices to MCA, however, the cricket body has acquired a stay in the same from court.
“Prima facie we do not see any rationale for the state government to have not only reduced the fee to be paid by organisers but also to have waived arrears,” the bench said.
It asked the government to file affidavit “giving justification, if any, for waiving the liability accrued on the organisers” in terms of the 2017 and 2018 GRs. It has asked the state to disclose the total arrears to be paid by the organisers since the year 2011 till date and the efforts made by the authorities for recovery of the same. The HC has kept the matter for hearing on October 7.
