Court rules in favour of Cairns against Modi – Cricket News Update
In a much anticipated decision, the High Court in London ruled against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, awarding 90,000 pounds in damages to the former Kiwi all-rounder, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Christopher-Lance-Cairns-c50906, whom Modi had accused of being involved in match fixing.
Cairns’, who played in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League, contract was terminated in 2008, despite being the captain for the Chandigarh franchise. Officially, the reason behind his ouster was the fact that he declined to disclose an ankle injury.
However, Modi publicly accused Cairns on Twitter in January 2010 of being involved in match fixing, citing that as the reason behind his exclusion from the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Furious over what he insisted were false claims, Cairns expressed his intent to sue Modi in court.
“The allegation made by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lalit-Kumar-Modi-c72144 that I have been involved in match fixing is scandalous and wholly untrue,” he said in an official statement. “For him to circulate such a falsehood around the world is outrageous. Mr. Modi's allegation has caused me huge
personal distress and professional damage.”
However, the ex-IPL commissioner was unperturbed, and replied via the micro-blogging site.
“Let him sue us, then we will produce what we have in court.”
A bitter battle ensued, and the court reached a verdict today, on March 26, with Cairns winning his libel case against Modi.
In addition to 90,000 pounds in damages, Justice David Bean, who was hearing the case, also awarded the 41-year-old 400,000 pounds in interim costs, which Modi is required to pay within 28 days. The judge pointed out that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Modi-c76470 had failed to bring substantial
evidence before the court over Cairns’ involvement in match-fixing, spot-fixing, or even cheating.
“It is obvious that an allegation that a professional cricketer is a match-fixer goes to the core attributes of his personality and, if true, entirely destroys his reputation for integrity,” said the judge while announcing the verdict, adding that it was
among the most serious allegations that could be made against a professional sportsman.
The cricketing world has been undergoing a string of controversies involving corruption, most prominently the spot-fixing case involving http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Essex-c783 pacer Mervyn Westfield was also jailed
last month for his involvement in spot-fixing. In addition, a recent report published in the British newspaper
Sunday Times also gave rise to speculations, after it revealed that fixing was still rampant in the game, with everyone from players to match officials involved in illegal activities.
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