Vadodara: A civil court on Monday asked land agent Arvind Jani to pay Rs8.22 crore to Baroda Cricket Association (BCA). The court here asked Jani to pay up Rs8.11 crore within 60 days along with 6% interest per annum from the date of decree of the present suit till the date of realization apart from Rs11 lakh.
“It is a victory for the BCA that has been fighting legal battle since years. The court has asked Jani to pay up the amount with interest. We will now focus on the case filed against Jani under Negotiable Instruments Act as the cheques he earlier issued had bounced,” said advocate Kaushik Bhatt, chairman of BCA’s legal committee. Supreme Court had in April this year issued an order asking Jani to deposit Rs4.11 crore. Jani had approached the SC after Gujarat high court ordered him to deposit the amount in a local court. The SC dismissed the special leave petition filed by Jani and he was asked to deposit the amount in two instalments.
Jani was asked to deposit 50 per cent amount by May 15, 2018 and the remaining by June 15, 2018. A civil court had in November last year passed an interim order asking Jani to deposit the amount within four months following which he approached the HC to seek a stay order. The BCA had paid Jani Rs4.11 crore to buy a piece of land in Sankarda in 2007 for constructing an international cricket stadium. The deal, however, failed to materialize and the BCA has been trying to recover the money along with interest since then.
Jani had issued post-dated cheques worth Rs8.25 crore to the BCA towards final settlement in 2013. But the cheques bounced following which the BCA filed a separate case in the court. The association later bought a land in Kotambi on Halol Road for building a cricket stadium.
