Lalit Modi, the man at the centre of IPL controversy, is reported to be somewhere in Europe, according to his lawyer, reports MidDay.
As the Bombay High Court gave a thumbs up to BCCI to continue its proceedings without reconstituting the committee set up to probe the charges levelled against Modi, all eyes are on the ex-IPL czar.
Modi had objected to Jyotiraditya Scindia and Arun Jaitley being on the BCCI disciplinary committee as he felt they had a bias against him.
As Chirayu Amin, Scindia and Jaitley heard the testimony of International Management Group official Peter Griffins on Wednesday, the question resurfaced - where is Lalit Modi? Why is he in hiding? Is he away because of BCCI's threat to press criminal charges?
"He is not in hiding. We have lawyers representing him. He is in Europe and constantly in touch," Modi's lawyer Mehmood Abdi told MidDay. " If necessary, he is available via video conference. He will fly down to India if there is an emergency."
The hearing will conclude following the next round of meetings on September 26, 27 and 28.BCCI want to complete the probe before September 29, the day of its Annual General Meeting.
Abdi conceded that the High Court's decision has come as a setback. "We are disappointed. It is a huge setback for us, quite unnatural and farcical a decision. There are in-built mechanisms in the judicial systems that give us further outlets to work with. We are also considering moving the Supreme Court," he said.
Modi's lawyer confirmed that his client would skip the final hearings too. "As of now, he will not return to India for that either. To keep tabs on the evidence provided by the witnesses, Modi will be available on video conference," he said.
The major talking point is IPL CEO Sundar Raman testifying. "He (Raman) was quite close to Modi. They were part of the deliberations together. Raman applauded every single move at the time, and now they have all turned on him in chorus," Abdi rued.
On Tuesday, the court held that Modi can raise the issue of a biased committee at a later stage while challenging the final decision of the BCCI committee.
Abdi threw in a chunk of sarcasm over the speed with which the disciplinary committee hearing is being conducted. It has been adjourned until September 26.
"The Government of India should learn a lesson or two from the way the BCCI disciplinary committee is meeting in Delhi, especially with regard to the Commonwealth Games preparations. Scindia was running very high fever, but still the disciplinary committee hearing was shifted to his residence which speaks volumes about the haste with which they want to deal with Modi."
