The Delhi High Court has referred the dispute between JioStar and Absolute Legends Sports over the media and commercial rights of the Legends League Cricket Masters T20 tournament to arbitration. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar has appointed Senior Advocate Kamal Nijhawan as the sole arbitrator in the matter.
As per media reports, the court has also directed that amounts received towards franchise fees and ticket collections shall not be dealt with by the respondents and will remain subject to further orders passed by the arbitrator. The dispute has arisen from a Media Rights Agreement dated September 16, 2024, and an Airtime Sale Agreement dated September 18, 2024, executed between the two parties for the broadcasting and commercial exploitation rights of the Legends League Cricket Masters T20 tournament.
Both agreements have contained arbitration clauses with New Delhi as the seat of arbitration.
JioStar has moved the High Court under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, seeking interim relief and claiming that Rs 3.59 crore remains outstanding. The company has alleged that Absolute Legends was attempting to commercially exploit and transfer the league’s rights through Respondent No. 2 and third-party platforms, including Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube, in breach of contractual rights.
The broadcaster has sought deposit of the outstanding amount or equivalent security. It has also sought restraint orders against transfer of rights, disclosure of third-party agreements, protection of tournament revenues and a stay on termination of the agreements.
The matter had earlier resulted in an interim order dated March 18, 2026, restraining Absolute Legends from creating third-party rights or otherwise dealing with the tournament’s media and commercial rights.
Subsequently, both parties before the court have agreed to refer the disputes to arbitration. In view of the consensus, the court has dispensed with the requirement of a separate notice invoking arbitration and independent proceedings for appointment of an arbitrator.
Recording the undertaking by Absolute Legends Sports and the second respondent, the court has directed that franchise fee and ticket collection amounts be maintained intact and that no third-party interest be created in them until further orders of the arbitrator.
The court has also observed that the disputes are valued at around Rs 4 crore and clarified that all rights and objections, including jurisdictional objections, will remain open before the arbitral tribunal. It has further directed that JioStar’s pending interim relief petition be treated as an application for interim relief before the arbitrator.
