With the Indian Premier League (IPL) saga getting murkier, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on Tuesday asked the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to collect all details relating to the IPL franchises and the bidding process. In its order, the Ministry asked the RoC to get information on the memorandum of association and on franchise agreement. The RoC has been asked to submit its report within a week.
Meanwhile, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told journalists here that his Ministry was not carrying out any inquiry into the IPL issue. “The Ministry will intervene only after ongoing inquiries point out any lapse related to company affairs,” he said.
“Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said in Parliament that he will ensure action against everybody who has committed any wrong in the matter and get the matter thoroughly investigated by concerned agencies. If something comes out from this action, which has any relation to company affairs, then it will come to us and then we will probe into it and take necessary action,” Mr. Khurshid added.
“The Ministry will take action only if there was any complaint related to company affairs, like not filing balance sheets or the appointment of directors in a wrong manner. So far the matter is only related to money transaction in the IPL, and these issues were being investigated by the Registrar of Companies and Enforcement Directorate,” he said.
“We will come into the picture if something related to company affairs comes out in their investigation…if we come to know that any step related to corporate law has been taken which makes our intervention necessary, we will look into it,” Mr. Khurshid added.
So, finally the ROCs have also joined the fray, after enjoying for THREE LONG YEARS all sorts of free VVIP-level hospitality from the IPL bosses! Why don’t they begin, as a first-ever instance, of cooperating with the IT probes? Or, does it (cooperating with any other investigating agency)involve too much stake for them?