Even before the upcoming season of IPL can take off, it is seeing a lot of action in the courts. After Kings XI Punjab, it is now the turn of Rajasthan Royals to file a petition at the Bombay High Court against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against the termination of their franchisee earlier this month.

The matter is listed before a single Bench headed by Justice S.J. Vazifdar under the Arbitration  Act and is expected to come up for hearing tomorrow, October 27, 2010. While Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited, the holding company of Rajasthan Royals, is being represented by Crawford Bayley, the BCCI is represented by the Mumbai office of Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh A. Shroff whose team is led by Partner Sharad Mathkar.

After the BCCI had decided to terminate the contract of Rajasthan Royals, BCCI President Shashank Manohar had said: "They had a different bidder during auctions. The agreement was entered in the name of a different company. The shareholding patterns were different and, then, the shares were transferred to different people without the permission of the governing council."

A statement issued by Rajasthan Royals’ executives said, "We have tried to meet with the BCCI to understand the basis for the termination, which was received without notice. We do not understand what we have done wrong. It is, therefore, our duty to IPL fans, our employees, our players and our partners to pursue the matter. The matter is expected to be listed this Wednesday. We would not like to state anything further, since it is sub judice."

The termination of their franchisee is not the only problem being faced by the Rajasthan Royals. The Enforcement Directorate which investigates foreign exchange rule violations for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is currently investigating Kings XI for FEMA violations and a show-cause notice has been sent to the Rajasthan Royals for alleged violations under FEMA. 

Sify.com reports that the Rajasthan Royals franchise is owned by Emerging Media group and is chaired by Manoj Badale. Other investors include Lachlan Murdoch, Aditya S. Chellaram and Suresh Chellaram, who is ousted IPL chairman Lalit Modi’s brother-in-law.

What remains to be seen is whether IPL 4 will be able to overcome the legal hurdles that are plaguing the tournament and if fans will be able to enjoy some on field action.