LHC dismisses cricketer Khalid Latif’s petition

The cricketer argued that PCB’s tribunal has no jurisdiction to probe spot-fixing charges

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday dismissed cricketer Khalid Latif’s writ petition, challenging proceedings of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) anti-corruption tribunal that is probing spot-fixing charges against him.

Latif, through his counsel, argued that the PCB’s tribunal had no jurisdiction to investigate spot-fixing charges. The tribunal under the PCB anti-corruption code is illegal as the code has not been gazetted in the Pakistan Gazette. He also questioned powers of the PCB chairman to constitute the tribunal.



The counsel requested the court to set aside the proceedings against the petitioner pending before the anti-corruption tribunal. The board’s counsel, however, opposed the petition and argued that the Sports (Development and Control) Ordinance of 1962 fully empowered the PCB chief to form the tribunal.

“The PCB chairman has the power to refer a case to the anti-corruption tribunal if a player denies charges against him and choses to contest his case,” he said, adding that the petition was not maintainable. After hearing both the sides, Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza dismissed the writ petition.

Latif and four other players had been charged for breaching the PCB's anti-corruption code during the second edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL).