Supreme Court (SC) has directed three nationalized banks, namely, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Union Bank of India and the Indian Bank - to deposit a sum of Rs 400 crore within 15 days with the Prothonotary and Master of Bombay High Court, who would then remit the sum to BCCI's bank account.
The order was passed on an appeal filed by BCCI, who had undertaken that if the suit relating to Nimbus Communications fails, then the banks will return the sum along with interest. BCCI had entered into Media Rights License Agreement with Nimbus Communications for the period from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2014, under which the latter furnished unconditional bank guarantees from PNB, Indian Bank and Union Bank of India to the tune of Rs 1600 crore to acquire the BCCI media rights.
However, the BCCI, in 2011, terminated the agreement with Nimbus citing payment defaults and sought to encash the bank guarantees provided by the nationalized banks. After refusal of banks to pay under the unconditional bank guarantees, the Board of Control for Cricket filed summary suits against the 3 public sector banks in Bombay High Court.
