Bombay HC Asks MCA Whether IPL Falls Under Sports Or Commercial Activity Category

The Bombay High Court on Friday sought to know from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) whether IPL was a sports or commercial activity.

This question was posed by a bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi while hearing a PIL filed by Loksatta Movement, which was filed last year, highlighting water woes faced by the people of Maharashtra, especially during drought.

As a result of this particular PIL, IPL matches that were scheduled to be held across the state were shifted outside.

It was reasoned by a bench headed by Justice VM Kanade that while people of the state did not have enough drinking water, thousands of litres of water was used to maintain pitches for IPL.

On Friday, the court was informed that supply of water is determined by the category under which the requirement falls. So, water for drinking purposes falls under Category A, supply of water for “Shahi Snan” falls in the last category.

After noting that Category C is meant for industrial and commercial purposes, the court asked whether IPL was a commercial activity.

As a result of this query, the MCA will also have to specify whether they took water from the BMC for matches that were held in Wankhede Stadium for this year’s IPL.

This matter will now come up for hearing on August 14. As per directions, the MCA will be filing an affidavit.