LAHORE: The lawyer of the suspended member of the Board of Governors (BoG) Nouman Butt has submitted an objection to the appointment of independent adjudicator Justice (retd.) Fazal Mira Chohan by chairman Ehsan Mani to hear his client’s case of suspension, claiming that the PCB chairman is also a party in the case so he should not appoint the adjudicator and instead the BoG members should appoint it.

After receiving the objection from lawyer Shaigan Ijaz, the justice has deferred the hearing till May 2, ordering the PCB’s lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi to submit the reply to the objection.

It may be mentioned here that Nouman, along with five other members of the BoG, had tabled a resolution at the start of the meeting held in Quetta on April 17, raising objections over the new domestic cricket set up devised by the PCB as well as over the appointment of newly-appointed Managing Director Wasim Khan. Subsequently, all five members left the meeting and some harsh words were also exchanged between Nouman and Mani.

On very next day, another member of the BOG Asad Ali Khan, appointed by Prime Minister Imran Khan in his capacity as patron of the PCB, filed a complaint against Nouman for making derogatory remarks against Mani. He also alleged that Nouman shared the official documents (the resolution) with the press which was unlawful.

Later, Chairman Mani — exercising his powers under PCB constitution Article-10 — referred the case to the independent adjudicator.

When asked by Dawn that how PCB chairman was party since the complainant was Asad Khan, Nouman’s lawyer Shaigan replied that since Asad’s complaint said that Nouman had used derogatory remarks against the PCB chairman, so the later was also a party in the case.

Shaigan further said he had also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court to suspend the order under which the PCB chairman had barred his client from attending any meeting of the BoG in future and a second petition to get this notification null and void. The LHC has summoned the two parties on May 7. Shaigan said he had all respect for the justice but his point was a legal one and it was according to the Pakistan’s constitution. He requested that the Board of Governors should appoint an independent adjudicator to address the case.

Meanwhile, PCB’s lawyer Tafazzul said the PCB chairman, as per the constitution of the PCB, has rightly appointed Fazal Chohan. He denied that the PCB chairman was a party in the case, since another member of the BoG Asad Khan had filed the complaint against Nouman. He said there was no other provision in the PCB’s constitution to allow any one else to appoint an independent adjudicator except the chairman.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2019