The Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan said on Thursday that the Supreme Court gave them a direction to follow the constitution of 2012 for upcoming election contrary to the claims of one of his predecessors Saber Hossain Chowdhury. Saber recently sent a letter to the Board asking to postpone its planned Annual General Meeting on October 2 as he believed it as a contempt of court.
Earlier on September 16, Mubasshar Hossain, a cricket organiser loyal to Saber sent a legal notice to the Board, requesting the present board of directors not to continue the office and hold any AGM following recent court verdict.
A three–member bench, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, in its verdict on July 26 had directed the BCB to make a fresh amendment to its constitution framed in 2008, according to the lawyers.
The apex court came up with the decision disposing of two appeals filed by BCB and National Sports Council challenging a High Court verdict that had declared the amendments brought to BCB’s constitution by NSC on November 29, 2012, illegal.
Nazmul, who was elected through 2012 constitutions, however, remained defiant, claiming that the court never questioned the legality of the present cricket authorities and the constitution they were following.
‘There is nothing in the verdict that called us illegal. We didn’t find anything in the verdict telling us and the constitution illegal,’ Nazmul told reporters at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur.
‘The Supreme Court has given us the direction to follow the constitution of 2012 to hold the election and we will do exactly how they told us,’ he said.
Nazmul questioned the motive of Saber, a fellow lawmaker from ruling Bangladesh Awami League, for wanting to take them back to 2008 constitutions, which the BCB chief said was incommensurate with the model provided by the International Cricket Council.
‘What they really want us it was going back the constitution of 2008,’ said Nazmul. ‘They wanted to make that final and the election should be held on that basis.
‘First of all, both of them were not councillors in 2008. They should have been councillors if they really wanted to hold the election on that constitution. They don’t have any interest to lead the cricket board.
‘Secondly, what I have told earlier that the constitution of 2008 is not a valid one as it is directly a violation of ICC act of laws.
‘The ICC forbids the current Sri Lankan board chairman, who is also the deputy speaker of their parliament, to enter into their head office for four months.
-With New Age input
