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Deccan Chargers ask for more time to raise bank guarantee

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	Deccan Chargers also filed an application requesting permission to raise their bank guarantee from a privatised bank © AFP  Enlarge

The owners of the Deccan Chargers franchise, Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited (DCHL), have asked for a three-day extension (till October 12) to raise Rs 100 crore as a bank guarantee, one of the conditions set by the Bombay High Court ruling of October 1 to avoid termination from the IPL. On Tuesday, the franchise's owners also filed an application requesting permission to raise the guarantee from a privatised bank and not a nationalised one, as originally stipulated by the court.

Immediately after the BCCI had terminated the Chargers on September 14 for failing to "cure various breaches" of their contract, DCHL had moved court, challenging the expulsion. Having heard both legal counsels over a few preliminary hearings, Justice SJ Kathawala passed a judgement where he asked DCHL to fulfil various undertakings, including paying a bank guarantee to the BCCI by October 9 from a nationalised bank. Kathawala also appointed the retired Supreme Court judge CK Thakkar as arbitrator to determine a solution to the dispute.

Kathawala had said that in the event DCHL failed to raise the sum, the BCCI had the rights to revoke the termination order. The other conditions included clearing players' dues immediately and all liabilities pertaining to IPL 5 by October 31. The other important condition was to pay IFCI, a private financial institution, who had filed a winding-up petition against the DCHL. "There is schedule set under the consent terms with IFCI, it will be paid accordingly," Zal Andhyarujina, the DCHL legal counsel, told ESPNcricinfo.

According to Andhyarujina, his client had already disbursed the payments to the players and team officials, and were also in the middle of clearing up all other dues. "Today at court we would be moving an application to have the condition of the raising the bank guarantee from a nationalised bank to a private bank - ICICI," Andhyarujina said.

Kathawala had already pulled up the BCCI for having acted in "haste" before passing the termination orders. On September 14, the board had convened an emergency IPL governing council meeting in Chennai, after which the decision was taken to terminate the Chargers. That was also the last day of the one-month deadline set by the BCCI for the Chargers to put their house in order. However, DCHL sent a notice through their lawyers stating they had not committed any "breaches."

"The judge held that BCCI acted slightly in haste because they were worried about the prestige of the IPL," a BCCI official said. "He pointed out that the dues were payable on May 1, so why did the board wait till August to send the notice to the Chargers…"