Ousted SLC Chief fights back, obtains two-week suspension of interim committee

The Court of Appeal yesterday (07) suspended, for two weeks, the seven-member Interim Committee appointed to run Sri Lanka Cricket. The court also suspended the relevant gazette notification issued by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe.

This order was delivered by a two- judge bench consisting of Appeals Court President Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Vikum Kaluarachchi after considering a writ petition filed by the ousted Chairman of SLC Shammi Silva.

Accordingly, the court has issued three stay orders in this regard: the first order suspended the gazette notification, the second to prevent the committee members chaired by former National Captain Arjuna Ranatunga and others from acting in their respective positions and the third to prevent the respondents including the Sports Minister from interfering in the activities of the petitioner and the other officials of the Cricket board.

Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe on Monday (06) appointed a seven-member Interim Committee for Sri Lanka Cricket, chaired by World Cup-winning former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga. Soon thereafter the President’s Media Division (PMD) said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe hadn’t been consulted. Minister Ranasinghe is on record as having said that the President’s approval is not required for him to appoint an interim committee.

The Minister formed the interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket under the authority granted to him by the Sports Law No 25 of 1973, to be in effect from Monday while the previous board was also suspended, the Sports Ministry had announced.

The interim committee consists of retired Supreme Court Judges S. I. Imam, and Rohini Marasinghe, retired High Court Judge Irangani Perera, Arjuna Ranatunga (Chairman), Upali Dharmadasa, Attorney-at-Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, and Hisham Jamaldeen.

The Cabinet of Ministers, which took up the matter for discussion Monday evening decided to appoint a ministerial committee to look into the relevant Gazette notification and also the future activities of Sri Lanka Cricket.

SLC and the Selection Committee have been under fire after the national team’s recent repeated defeats, but backlash snowballed after India demolished the Lions to register a 302-run victory in ODI 33 of the ongoing ICC World Cup.