A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a ruling that certain clauses of the Cricket Bill, presented to Parliament by the government, are inconsistent with the Constitution. The petition was filed by Dr. Chanaka Senanayake, Attorney-at-Law and former Head of the Legal Department at Sri Lanka Cricket.
The petitioner states that certain clauses of the proposed Bill would be detrimental to the sport of cricket.
The petitioner points out that Clause 32 of the proposed Bill restricts voting rights at Sri Lanka Cricket General Meetings exclusively to 'Category A' and 'Category B' cricket clubs and provincial cricket associations. The petitioner points out that the proposed bill results in a concentration of voting power within the Western Province, effectively depriving sports associations in districts outside the Western Province of that right.
Furthermore, it is noted that Section 28 of the bill appoints the President as the ‘Patron’ of the cricket body, while Section 22 designates the Secretary to the Ministry of Sports and the Chairman of the National Sports Council as ex-officio members of the panel responsible for selecting independent directors for the cricket board.
The petitioner asserts that such provisions undermine the independence of Sri Lanka Cricket’s administration and violate the fundamental human right to equal treatment before the law, as guaranteed by Article 12(1) of the Constitution. Accordingly, the petitioner has requested the Supreme Court to rule that the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution are violated by the provisions in question.