From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 07:31 AM IST

Former Indian cricket board president Jagmohan Dalmiya Tuesday vowed to contest his expulsion, terming it an 'illegitimate' decision that went against the principles of natural justice.

'I was hanged without a fair trial. I will take legal recourse within 14 days,' he told reporters here, three days after being expelled from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for life for alleged misappropriation of funds.

'I have no interest in any post or position in BCCI. I am fighting for my pride and justice,' he added.

Dalmiya said he had submitted written explanations before the board's special general meeting on Saturday in Jaipur and also challenged the legality and validity of the board rules that provide for removal of an expelled person from an affiliated unit of the BCCI. With his expulsion, Dalmiya stood automatically expelled from the Cricket Association of Bengal, of which he was president.

Dalmiya said that the disciplinary committee was 'biased', since all its members had expressed their views against him. He said since criminal proceedings were initiated against him on the same set of allegations, the disciplinary committee could not run 'parallel proceedings on the same set of allegations'.

He said as per BCCI rules the process of adjudication should have been completed within six months and hence the issue was 'barred by limitations'.

Regarding the financial misappropriation that varied from Rs.2.1 million to Rs.480 million, he said as per the disciplinary committee it was finally settled at Rs.80.98 million for which he had given all explanations.

Referring to the open voting at the Jaipur meeting, he said: 'I am not saying that the results would have been different in a secret ballot, but at least people would have had an option. In case of a vote by raising of hands there is no option left.'

'I was not even allowed to take my lawyer in with myself. The people who levelled charges against me formed the committee and gave the verdict. I gave out the 44-page document, but the verdict was given even without going through it. Is this justice? The resolution was prefixed,' Dalmiya said.

Dalmiya is charged with misappropriating funds of the Pakistan-India-Lanka-Committee (PILCOM) that staged the 1996 World Cup on the sub-continent. Dalmiya was the BCCI president at the time.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)