Actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri, who promote IPL franchise Kolkata Kinght Riders, and Jaipur IPL Cricket that promotes Rajasthan Royals have been issued show-cause notices for alleged violation of the Companies Act.
"After expiry of notice period, criminal proceedings will be filed against the companies and the directors," the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Mumbai, informed the Ministry of Company Affairs.
The notices were issued to the companies and their promoters, directors for not filing mandatory yearly returns.
The MCA, on last Wednesday, had directed the RoC to collect within a week all details on IPL franchisees, including the bidding process, sweat equity and memorandum of association.
"My ministry is merely collecting information that we should have in the normal course of those companies that are franchisee companies," Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had told reporters, clarifying that this was not a probe.
The RoC-Mumbai, which inquired into the details of Red Chillies Entertainment and Knight Riders Sports, and Jaipur IPL Cricket, in a communication to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on April 22, said that "after expiry of the notice period, criminal proceeding will be filed against the companies and their directors."
The RoC said that these companies have not been filing balance sheets and annual returns.
Red Chillies, headed by Shahrukh Khan and Gauri Khan, is the promoter of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, while Jaipur IPL Cricket owns the Rajasthan Royals franchise.
According to an official sources, the companies have been given 15 days to respond to the notices given by the RoC Mumbai.
E-mails sent to Red Chillies Entertainments and Knight Riders Sports remained unanswered, while the Jaipur IPL Cricket remained silent on the RoC notice.
As regards Jaipur IPL Cricket, its directors Raghuram Natrajan Iyer and Ranjit Rabindranath Barthukar, as named by the RoC, have been issued notices.