News Headline
After hearing Zee’s side, case adjourned to Monday
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has adjourned hearing in the much-contested BCCI cricket telecast rights case to Monday after Zee Telefilms exhaustively put forward its argument.
Arguing before a two-judge Bench of Chief Justice DS Bhandari and Justice DY Chandrachud, Zee’s counsel Harish Salve argued that ESPN has not produced a clean signal of live cricket matches completely in-house. Neither the West Indies-India series nor the South Africa-India and England matches were exclusively produced by ESPN. It was only in the Asia Cup that the production was done in-house.
Zee raised the point that ESPN had sidelined the consortium clause and was creating confusion over production facilities. The hawk eye camera and other facilities belonged to proprietary companies and neither to ESPN or to Zee. Today to produce the match for telecasting, cameras are planted. All of us rent out those facilities. It is only a question of how much each of us do, Salve argued.
ESPN had been showing cricket in India so far. Zee has a presence in 88 countries and has been showing cricket when India plays overseas. If BCCI is entertaining Zee today, the board obviously considers us eligible, said Salve.
Justice Chandrachud then queried Salve on whether the company had experience in TV production of cricket matches as Zee had mentioned telecast but no production experience in its bid for the BCCI rights. Salve admitted that Zee had never produced clean signals. But neither ESPN nor Zee have produced clean signals for two years, the counsel said.
The court then observed, “If we strictly stick to your line of argument then both the parties (Zee and ESS) would be ineligible.”
Responding to the court’s observation, Salve, while agreeing with the point made by the bench, drew attention to the fact that none of the parties, and that includes Prasar Bharti, would “strictly speaking” be eligible to get the telecast rights as all were merely licensees and hire production units to telecast matches.
Moving on to another issue, Salve pointed out that PriceWaterhouse Coopers, which had been assigned the task of vetting the bids, was the global auditor of ESPN and had a conflict of interest. PwC had not sent any reply to Zee on its inquiries. But ESPN had got a response from PwC in a letter on September 6, Salve said.
India has emerged as the largest commercial market for cricket and accounts for 80 per cent of the worldwide revenue for the sport. BCCI has put up tenders and an Indian-owned company with a homegrown network with large production facilities has bid. Lets not miss the wood for the trees, he said. The public interest has suffered. ESPN has put no argument saying that it has been detrimental to public interest. They are only working for their interest and monopoly.
Earlier, ESPN’s counsel Iqbal Chaggla, referring to SAB TV’s argument about ESS being a foreign entity in an intervention application filed yesterday, told the court that even Zee has its registered offices in countries like the USA and United Kingdom. Chaggla argued that company’s licence was under Zee TV, USA.
BCCI TO HONOUR COURT DIKTAT
The working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which held an emergency meeting in Kolkata yesterday, has decided to follow the court’s diktat that status quo be maintained on the issue of telecast rights.
This rules out any further moves on the part of the BCCI to offer the piecemeal rights of the upcoming Australia series to national broadcaster Doordarshan.
In its submission to the court today, the BCCI sought time for arguments and the court told it to put forward its submissions on Monday when its counsel, KK Venugopal, is expected to address the court.
The court has still to look into the maintainability of the writ filed by ESS and the arguments will continue on Monday at 2:45 pm. The court has also allowed the intervention application filed by SAB TV.
This of course raises the question of whether the court will be able to deliver its verdict on the matter by next week because time is running out for all the parties to the dispute.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
