LHC sends notice to PCB for early hearing of Shoaib Akhtar’s case
The Lahore High Court has issued a notice to the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board in response to a petition filed by the express pacer Shoaib Akhtar for an early hearing of his appeal in which the latter has challenged the 18-month ban and an outstanding 7-million-rupee
fine imposed on him. The penalty was imposed by a PCB established appellate tribunal.
The fast bowler was fined and handed a five-year ban by a PCB tribunal in April 2008 for violation of disciplinary code of conduct after he criticised the PCB selectors. Later, another PCB tribunal reduced the five-year ban to one and a half years but a
heavy fine was recommended.
As an interim relief, on 3 July, 2008, the then Lahore High Court Chief Justice suspended the 18-month ban on Akhtar allowing him to participate in national and international cricket, however, he did not give any decree against the 7-million-rupee financial
penalty.
The paceman, through his legal advisor Abid Hassan Minto had pleaded the court that the PCB tribunal was not authorised to award such punishment because the penalties were not provided under the appropriate law.
Minto contended that the appellate tribunal illegitimately approved the charges by relying on the judgments of the two different disciplinary committees of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Akhtar’s counsel drew court’s attention to the 13-match ban and a four-million-rupee fine imposed on his client in October 2007 by a PCB disciplinary committee on the charges of hitting his teammate in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
Minto further added that another disciplinary committee passed orders of imposing life ban on his client, which he challenged before the appellate tribunal constituted by the PCB as it was absolutely illegal to impose a life ban on that issue because it
was not supported by any law or rule of Board’s policy.
The counsel requested the Lahore High Court to annul the orders of disciplinary committees and appellate tribunal’s findings as the committee or the tribunal cannot rely on the illegal part of earlier orders.
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