In a bid to cull out exhaustive details on the unfolding IPL saga, the Registrar of Companies under the ministry of corporate affairs has sought a copy of the annual results of every single IPL team for the last three years. Details of the letter that FE has obtained show that the ministry is keen to bring transparency in the cricketing extravaganza by forcing team owners to share details on every possible front.
Letters have also been sent to the new IPL teams?Kochi and Pune. The letter addressed to the companies owning the franchisees with the subject, ?Collection of Information u/s 234 (1) of Companies Act, 1956,? has also demanded that the teams share terms and conditions of the bidding process, names and addresses of the owners including the shareholding pattern and the franchisee agreement executed between the concerned company and the IPL.
Post-the Sunanda Pushkar?s Rs 70-crore sweat equity stake in the Kochi IPL team, which she later surrendered, an official in the corporate affairs ministry said the sense in government circles was that many more IPL teams could have entered into similar arrangements, thereby possibly breaching the Companies Act.
In the letter RoC has sought complete details if any sweat equity has been doled out and in the process if the compliance of the relevant provisions of law has been compromised and its impact on the paid up capital of the company. ?This is a very new issue (sweat equity)?Some owners may get preference over the others because of their standing. The question really is whether they are complying with the Act or not,? a source said.
Minister for corporate affairs Salman Khurshid said on Wednesday that MCA is scrutinising record of the franchisees. ?We cannot just shut our eyes (to IPL controversy)… We are doing our own due diligence,? he said. RoC has written to the Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings Eleven, Deccan Chargers and Kochi and Pune.
