Supreme Court orders to elect Sri Lanka Cricket committee

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Monday has ordered the relevant authorities to elect the country’s governing body for the Cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising judges Shirani Thilakawardhana, Nimal Gamini Amarathunga and R. K. Sureshchandra, has asked the Sports Ministry to hold elections and make the appointments by July 6.

The SLC, formerly known as the Board for Cricket Control in Sri Lanka (BCCSL), has been administered since 2004 by an interim committee, whose members have been appointed by the Sports Minister.

The apex court has decided on the ruling in response to a fundamental right petition filed by Sunil Asoka Mendis, the chairman of the United South Sports Club on behalf of local clubs which have been denied the opportunity to elect officials to the board.  The petitioner cited that his right to vote to elect the control board for cricket has been violated since the election was not held after 2004.

Further hearing of the petition was postponed to July 09.

The current seven-member interim committee led by former leg spinner Somachandra De Silva was appointed in 2009 by the then Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge.