In its plea, the government has requested the top court to restore PCB Management Committee (MC) along with Najam Sethi as chairman PCB. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination, through its counsel Asma Jahangir, on Tuesday filed an appeal against the IHC’s January 17 judgment, wherein Ashraf was restored as chairman PCB.
Meanwhile, acting chief justice of Pakistan Nasirul Mulk fixed hearing for the government‘s plea against IHC order on Wednesday before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.
In its plea, the government has requested the top court to restore PCB Management Committee (MC) along with Najam Sethi as chairman PCB.
“The impugned judgment has brought up a situation that will have long term detrimental effect on PCB, if not reversed promptly and it will ruin the game of cricket”, the government says in its petition.
The government has claimed that the restored PCB chairman has already started his vendetta against professionals associated with the PCB; therefore, PCB could not be allowed to be treated as a personal fiefdom of any board of governors or its chairman.
It further said that the high court not only annulled February 10, 2014 notification in utter violation of the top court’s judgments but also struck down all acts, orders passed along term implications, adding that the impugned judgment has throughout erroneously termed the management committee as interim management committee, whereas the patron had set up the management committee to clean up the PCB swiftly which was urgently required to hold financial integrity and governance.
The appeal stated that multiple reforms including holding of elections, drafting a constitution and making alliances so that Pakistan cricket is not isolated were underway.
“By declaring all acts of the MC that are ‘long term’, the judgment has struck a fatal blow to PCB and cricket, which will cost PCB heavily in terms of financial loss and credibility in international cricket”, it adds.
The government raised questions that the single bench illegally assumed the jurisdiction, as neither Arbab Altaf Hussain is a resident of Islamabad nor his service was terminated in Islamabad.
It says that matters of policy squarely remain within the domain of the executive and exception to the rule must law down cogent and strong evidence of mala fide by those alleging it.
“The impugned judgment completely disregards that there is an alternative remedy available under the PCB constitution in para 40 and41 A.”
It is also said that the high court has wrongly presumed that the MC or the government was not moving toward holding of elections.
“Impugned judgment has erroneously concluded mala fide, pollution, fancifulness and tainted appearance of the petitioner (federal government) and the fact that the petitioner challenged the judgment of Intra-Court Appeal (ICA) in the Supreme Court is indicative of its approach and at no point has the petitioner tried to hijack the PCB nor can the petitioner allow any vested interest to do the same as that would defeat the interest of Cricket and undermine the responsibility of patron”
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