Madras high court dismisses Volleyball Federation of India’s plea against Rs 4crore arbitral award

CHENNAI: In a setback to the Volleyball Federation of India, the Madras high court dismissed its plea challenging a Rs 4crore arbitral award granted against it, to be paid to Pro Volleyball League promoters Baseline Ventures.

The arbitration was passed on a plea moved by Baseline for unlawful termination of the promoter agreement for the Pro Volleyball League 2018 by the federation, due to a dispute regarding the sharing of net profit between the parties.


Dismissing the appeal moved by the federation challenging the award dated Nov 21, 2020, Justice N Anand Venkatesh imposed Rs 2.5 lakh as costs payable to Baseline. The court held that the findings rendered by the arbitrator were certainly a plausible view on appreciation of evidence and, therefore, did not require the interference of this court.

“The finding of the arbitrator is based on appreciation of evidence and the relevant clauses, and it does not suffer from any perversity or patent illegality warranting the interference of this court,” the judge added.

The issue pertains to an agreement signed by the federation and Baseline on Feb 21, 2018, under which Baseline agreed to conduct 10 seasons of a professional volleyball league over 10 years. The federation was entitled to a one-time fee of Rs 2.5 crore, a minimum guaranteed amount per season, and 50% of net profits. The first season was held in February 2019.

Baseline's audited statements reflected a loss of about Rs 1.66 crore. The federation alleged that the accounts were manipulated to deny its profit share. It also claimed breach on the ground that no league was conducted in 2018, that women's and beach volleyball leagues were not held, that there was a delay in payment of fees, and that Baseline wrongly applied to register the league's trademark and logo.