Grievance of the petitioner is that he has been elected by five service organization/departments namely (i) National Bank of Pakistan (ii) SNGPL (iii)KRL (iv) SSGC and (v) Pakistan Customs and is therefore entitled to be Member of the Governing Body of Pakistan Cricket Board (P.C.B). He further prays that the election of Respondent No, 4 as a member of the Governing Body of P.C.B. be declared to be illegal and unlawful.
2. Learned counsel for the respondents submits while referring to paragraph 8 (1) (c) of the Constitution of P.C.B. issued under Section 3 (1) and Section 4 of the Sports (Development and Control) Ordinance, 1962 vide SRO No, 64(KE)/2007 dated 20.09.2007 (Gazetted on 18th October, 2007) that the Governing Body of PCB consists of one representative of Service Organizations, who play first class cricket, and the said representative shall be elected from amongst the Service Organizations. He further referred to the second proviso to paragraph 8 (3) which states "Provided further that members so retiring shall continue to perform their functions until they are reappointed or their successors are appointed, as the case may be, and every effort shall be made by PCB to fill up the vacancies of retiring members as early as possible" (emphasis supplied). He further referred to paragraph 34 (2) to show that the Election Commissioner has the power to conduct the elections in the present matter and finally referred to Paragraph 35(2) to show that in case of any dispute arising out of any decision of PCB the matter is to be referred to arbitration and that the petitioner has not availed this statutory remedy.
3. Learned counsel for the PCB submitted that the petitioner has approached PCB on his own while the correct process in the past has been that the PCB wrote to the Service Organizations requesting them to send their nomination of one representative as a member of the Governing Body. He submitted that this process has further been institutionalized by the PCB this year and the process regarding the election of one representative from the Service Organizations and Departments is now conducted under the auspices of P.C.B. in a joint meeting of the Service Organizations in order to ensure transparency.
4. The process in this regard was initiated on 4th January 2010, when letters were issued by the PCB to the respective Service Organizations and Departments requesting them to elect one representative from amongst them. According to the counsel seven under mentioned Service Organizations are authorized to elect one representative :--
(i) PIA;
(ii) HBL;
(iii) NBP;
(iv) ZTBL;
(v) WAPDA;
(vi) SNGPL; and
(vii) KRL
5. He further submitted that SSGC and Pakistan Customs have been relegated, therefore, they do not fall in the list of Service Organizations and Departments, who have been authorized to participate in the election of their representative under paragraph 8 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the PCB.
6. In order to ensure transparency the meeting was held by the PCB in the light of authority given under paragraph 8 of the Constitution. The said meeting was scheduled on 15.01.2010. Counsel further submitted that the letters in favour of the petitioner are prior to the said date, however, on 15.01.2010 the representatives of seven Service Organizations met under the auspices of Election Commissioner of PCB and elected Naveed Akram Cheema (Respondent No, 4) as their representative for governing body of PCB. Thereafter, PCB under paragraph 8 (2) of the Constitution has forwarded the matter for the approval of the Patron (President of Pakistan).
Learned counsel further submits that the letters procured by the petitioner have bitter value as the representatives of Service Organizations formally met subsequent to the date of the letters procured by the petitioner and elected Respondent No,
4. The said counsel has placed on record the minutes of the meeting dated 15.01.2010.
7. Arguments heard. The Election Commissioner of PCB has already forwarded the name of Respondent No, 4 to the Patron for approval and notification, in case the petitioner is aggrieved of the said decision, he can file an appeal before the penal of arbitrators under para 35 (2) of the Constitution of PCB and therefore, in the presence of an effective alternate remedy this petition is not maintainable.
8. In any case even if the list of Service Organization who have issued letters in favour of the petitioner are considered three out of the seven namely (i) NBP (ii) SNGPL (iii) KRL have subsequently voted for Respondent No, 4 in the meeting held on 15.01.2010 under the umbrella of Election Commission of PCB in terms of proviso to paragraph 8 (3) of the constitution and therefore, seven Service Organizations (as mentioned above) have voted in favour of Respondent No,
4. Therefore, even on merits the petitioner has no case. This petition has no merit and is, therefore, dismissed. revisions by the competent authorities. Therefore, it is advisable to consult the official sources or legal professionals for the most up-to-date and accurate information.