RANJAN GOGOI,J. - (1.) Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.
(2.) The precise origin of the game of cricket, though largely unknown, has been traced, at least, to late 15th Century England. With the expansion of British Empire the game of cricket travelled to different parts of the globe including India. Today, if there has to be a national game in India, cricket would certainly be a front-runner. The packed stands in all cricketing venues is certainly not the full picture. Live telecast of all major cricketing events, domestic and international, is beamed to millions of homes in the country. Telecasting/Broadcasting rights are leased out by the organizing body i.e. Board of Control for Cricket in India (hereinafter referred as the "BCCI") through competitive bidding. These signals (live feeds) are transmitted to millions of Indian homes by the Doordarshan; cable operators and Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators. The rights of these entities in respect of the live telecast of major cricketing events in the country and the consequential revenue implications are the core issues arising in these groups of appeals which have been filed in the following circumstances.
(3.) BCCI is the "approved" national level body holding virtually monopoly rights to organize cricketing events in the country. Grant of telecasting rights of these events is, therefore, a major source of revenue for the BCCI. There is currently in force a Media Rights Agreement by and between Star India Private Ltd. and BCCI effective from April 2012 till March 2018 under which Star India Private Limited [respondent No.4 in the Appeals arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) Nos.4574-4575 of 2015] has been granted exclusive rights to telecast cricketing events that take place in the country during the currency of the period of the agreement.;