SC allows World Cup sponsors to remit foreign exchange abroad

New Delhi: The Indian Supreme Court has struck down the Delhi High Court’s interim order which put a ban on the official sponsors of the ICC World Cup Cricket from remitting foreign exchange abroad. The official sponsors of the ICC World Cup are LG Electronics, PepsiCo and Hero Honda.

LG Electronics had filed an appeal with the apex court against the high court’s interim order in which the court had directed the central government and the Reserve Bank of India that no foreign exchange, either in the form of sponsorship money or as damages, be released to the International Cricket Council (ICC), if ICC debarred India from playing in the championship or imposed any penalty or damages on players or the Board of Control for Cricket India.

But the apex court said such remittances would be subject to the court’s final order. LG, in its petition, had said that as BCCI had invoked an arbitration clause and the matter is pending before the Swiss Court of Arbitration, the high court had no jurisdiction to entertain the public interest litigation filed by some leading ex-cricketers and umpires.