BCCI retains three-member disciplinary panel

In what could be a setback to Lalit Modi in his battle against the BCCI, the Indian board has decided to retain the three-member disciplinary panel appointed to probe the charges against him. Modi's lawyers had objected to the presence of IPL chairman Chirayu Amin in the panel, claiming Amin may have a grudge against him.

According to Modi, Amin was part of a consortium led by Pune-based construction company City Corporation that took part in the auction for the two new teams in March 2010. "It was Modi who had disclosed publicly that Amin was an investor who formed a part of the Pune consortium that made an unsuccessful bid for the two franchises this year," PTI quoted the notice sent by Modi's lawyers as saying in July.

However, the board approved Amin's presence on the panel at its special general meeting, ratifying the three-man committee's tenure till the case against Modi is heard completely. The BCCI's constitution requires the disciplinary panel to be constituted at every annual general meeting which the board had initially failed to do, but formally did so today.

Modi had earlier also disputed the presence of Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, in the panel. Manohar duly recused himself, and was replaced by Jyotiraditya Scindia. However, according to Ratnakar Shetty, the board's chief administrative officer, the BCCI's constitution makes it mandatory for its President to be on the disciplinary committee. Accordingly, Manohar will now be part of the panel except for the Modi case.

Besides Amin, the other members of the panel are Arun Jaitley and Scindia, who are both politicians heading their respective state cricket associations.