Lalit Modi loses Cairns libel verdict appeal

Ex-chairman of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi leaves the High Court in central London on March 5, 2012, after a hearing in a libel case brought against him by former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns. Modi has failed in his appeal against a £90,000 libel award to Cairns over an accusation of match-fixing.

LONDON - Former chairman of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi has failed in his appeal against a £90,000 libel award to former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns over an accusation of match-fixing.

Cairns sued Modi earlier this year and won the case when a judge ruled the Indian “singularly failed” to provide any reliable evidence that the Kiwi was involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing, or even that there were strong grounds for suspicion that he was.

Modi had attempted to overturn that ruling, but on Wednesday three judges in the Court of Appeal, headed by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, said the awards were proportionate to the seriousness of the allegation and its direct impact on Cairns himself.

“We reject the criticisms of the judge’s reasoning or of the total award based on a starting point of £75,000 with the £15,000 uplift directly linked to the conduct of the hearing,” the verdict read.

“In our judgment they were proportionate to the seriousness of the allegation and its direct impact on Mr Cairns himself and will serve to vindicate his reputation. The appeal is accordingly dismissed.”

In 2007 and 2008, Cairns captained the Chandigarh Lions in three competitions in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which flourished briefly before the ascendancy of the IPL.

The allegation made by Modi related to the second and third of these competitions, between March and April 2008 and October and November that year.