Modi gets till May 15 to file chargesheet reply

NEW DELHI - Lalit Modi, the suspended chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has got more time to submit his reply to the chargesheet against him after Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar acceded to his request.

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) Monday agreed to give Modi time to reply till Saturday, May 15, an official of the board said.

Modi is believed to have finalised the reply, but it is being vetted by a battery of eminent lawyers as they have to go through a maze of documents. The chargesheet, giving him 15 days to reply, was served on Modi April 26 after he was suspended at midnight soon after the IPL final.

The showcause lists charges of financial irregularity, but Modi has maintained that all decisions were taken collectively by the IPL Governing Council.

The five main charges against Modi include receiving kickbacks for allotting TV broadcast rights and manipulating bids.

Finding the papers relating to the IPL missing from the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, the board sent out instructions to all its office-bearers that all board papers should be at the office and not in their possession.

Modi Saturday handed over the first bunch of documents pertaining to the IPL, though the BCCI Chief Administrative Office Ratnakar Shetty is reported to have stated that some key IPL papers were still missing.