Questioning how the State could compare other states with Mumbai, where the cost of living is high, the Bombay High Court sought replies from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to a PIL challenging a 2023 govt resolution (GR) that reduced the police bandobast fees for all IPL organizers with retrospective effect from 2011. The reduction would help both BCCI and MCA. Over Rs 17 crore is due from BCCI and MCA collectively towards police bandobast fees so far, the HC was informed.
Special senior counsel for the State, Milind Sathe, sought to justify the reduction as a “rationalisation.” He said it was a policy decision of the govt and cited judgments that permitted the State to decide on charges in the past. Sathe, along with additional govt pleader Jyoti Chavan for the State, said even for film award events, the State earlier reduced police bandobast fees. The HC division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said this was cricket. At the last hearing, the bench orally observed that the BCCI was the richest cricket body.
The State Director General of Police, in its affidavit, said so far Rs 20 crore was recovered from BCCI, and an outstanding amount Rs 4.3 crore is due. From MCA, an amount of Rs 13 crore is pending towards police bandobast during various T20 and World Cup matches and test matches in various stadiums across Maharashtra, including in Mumbai, the State said.
The State said considering fees charged in other states, fees have been rationalised, and since protests were pending against the earlier fee structure for being “high,” the new circular with reduced fees was given retrospective effect from 2011. “Up till 2016, the charges levied were based on actual manpower provided by the police,” the reply said. In June 2017, the Home Department fixed rates, which were revised in Nov 2018 and finally in June 2023. The DG office said it has followed up diligently with BCCI and MCA for outstanding payments, which, however, remain unpaid, despite the reduction or waiver given last June.
