• Challenges SLC Prez and Ex-Co. 
• 31 respondents named including Sports Minister and AG

A Fundamental Rights (FR) petition was filed last week in the Supreme Court (SC) by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) ex-Vice President K. Mathivanan, against SLC President Shammi Silva and its Executive Committee, he confirmed to The Daily Morning Sports.

The petition has challenged the election of office bearers to the game’s domestic governing body held in late March this year.

He stated that the FR petition filed on his behalf by President’s Counsel and former head of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Saliya Peiris is to be heard tomorrow (26).

Asked what had prompted him to wait for three months to file his FR petition since the end of the SLC AGM, Mathivanan added that as he had to collect evidence to substantiate his charges, a bit of time had been consumed.

“I did not want to file this petition based on flimsy evidence or for the sake of filing it. I wanted to back it all up with concrete proof and that is why it took me this much time,” he said.

According to Mathivanan, he has filed his FR application praying the Apex Court to annul all appointments to posts of the Executive Committee of SLC including its President Shammi Silva, at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held this year.

The former Vice President of Sri Lanka Cricket has named 31 persons as respondents in his FR application, including the SLC President and its Executive Committee, members of the Election Committee (EC) headed by retired Justice of Court of Appeal Malanie Guneratne, Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage, Deputy Sports Minister Sugath Thillakaratne, Secretary to Sports Ministry Aruna Bandara, Director General (DG) of the Sports Ministry Shemal Fernando, the Auditor General and the Attorney General (AG) Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr.

In his FR petition, Mathivanan has moved the SC to grant him immediate relief, by imposing interim injunctions on the SLC and instructing its Executive Committee to hold a fresh election of office bearers, to submit complete reports of assets and declarations pertaining to three years as per new regulations absorbed to the Provisions of the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973.

He has furthermore requested the Supreme Court to issue an edict to Sri Lanka Cricket, to initiate a forensic audit linked to its alleged dubious financial transactions, to issue an interim injunction to the Sports Minister, preventing the use, allocation and distribution of SLC finances by SLC Ex-Co members and its officials and to deem that the actions of the respondents has violated his fundamental rights which has been enshrined in the Clause 12 (1) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Mathivanan in his FR application has urged the Supreme Court to issue an order to the SLC to provide a sufficient time period to submit nominations and objections linked to the AGM and to issue an order to the 31st respondent to produce an independent audit report pertaining to offences committed by the respondents from the second to eight as per the Clause 39 of the Sports Law.

He has then requested the SC to issue an order to submit the audit inquiries report concerning the accounts of the club linked to the first respondent for the year ending from 2023 December to 2024 December, which had been handed over to the respondents second to eight to be released to the 31st respondent.

The ex-SLC Vice President who was also a livewire official of Colts Cricket Club, in his FR petition, has levelled several other charges pertaining to the incumbent Executive Committee of SLC.  

A few other charges contained in his FR application being the existing electioneering system of SLC continuing to be faulty and replete with numerous shortcomings, the calling of the nominations for the said election from an unapproved Gazette Notification, the occupation of posts at SLC by unsuitable persons while being in violation of its Constitution, the failure on the part of the Sports Minister to form an Appeal Committee pertaining to accepting of nominations and objections, and the failure to facilitate the process of appealing over the non-appointment of an ombudsman, several improper deals which has been struck in the recent past such as the conduct of the Smart Youth Concert to enhance the political image of ex-President Ranil Wickremasinghe and the failure to submit audit reports on time etc.