Mumbai, Apr 22 (IANS): Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar Thursday accused Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi of violating the "confidentiality" clause signed by the board and the franchisees by declaring the ownership stakes.

Manohar said the new IPL Kochi franchise were contemplating legal action against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after Modi tweeted the ownership details.

He also charged Modi with "selectively leaking" the e-mail to media that he wrote April 14 asking for permission to reveal the ownership detail of the franchisees.

"After the names were leaked, I get a communication from (Vivek) Venugopal (partner in Rendezvous) around night saying that there is a Confidentiality Clause in the agreement, which had been signed between the board and them and there is a serious breach of obligation on part of the board. He also said in the communication that they are contemplating legal action."

"Because of the communication, I told Modi to keep quiet with regard to the new franchise. The media pounced on Modi so wisdom dawned on him on April 14 when he wrote an e-mail to me and members April 14 suggesting that we should disclose the names of all franchise which had not done since January 2008. Then I replied that the issue is complicated and needs detailed deliberations and has legal implications and hence it should be discussed and considered by the Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. The other members of the governing council also agreed with me. Modi agreed with me."

"We are talking about documents that we have not seen before."

Manohar also charged Modi that he leaked the e-mail to media.

"Modi selectively leaked the mail. Its fine for him to leak the mail. When he has not (revealed the ownership details) done that for two years, 10 days would not have made a difference."