GCA fracas: Who will pay legal fees for defending Desai, Phadke and Mulla?

Panaji: The Goa

Cricket

Association is yet to decide if the association will pick up the hefty bill from lawyers defending their top officials, or whether the arrested individuals will foot the bill themselves.

GCA

president Chetan

Desai

, secretary Vinod

Phadke

and treasurer Akbar

Mulla

were all arrested last week for allegedly misappropriating BCCI funds to the tune of Rs 3.13 crore. The high-ranking officials continue to enjoy support from the managing committee and senior vice-president Venkatesh Prabhudesai said a decision on the legal bills will be taken at an “appropriate time.” “At the last managing committee, we had taken a decision regarding legal expenses but that was for the Supreme Court battle against charges made by Hemant Angle. As far as the current expenses are concerned, we have not decided anything,” said Prabhudesai. When the current GCA managing committee – elected unanimously – took charge last year, they had criticised the decision of former president Dr Shekhar Salkar who issued a cheque worth Rs 55.80 lakh to pay the fees to lawyers engaged by him to fight against the 22 clubs opposing the decision to deny them the right to vote at the ensuing elections. Salkar has always maintained that the clubs filed a case against the association and not him as an individual, so he was within his right to defend the association even if it came at such a high cost in the High Court. The High Court, it may be recalled, had dissolved the election committee of the GCA appointed by the managing committee headed by Salkar and instead constituted a three -member committee headed by retired judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice A P Lawande to oversee the GCA polls.