Plea for PSL expenditure disposed of

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday disposed of a petition seeking details of expenditures incurred on Pakistan Super League (PSL) and directed ministry of inter provincial coordination to decide petitioner’s application after affording him an opportunity of personal hearing.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Javed Badar moved the petition, pleading that he had written a letter to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) former chairman to provide him details of PSL expenses but he had not responded.

He pointed out that access to information was one of the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution as well as of common law but his right was infringed by declining to provide details about PSL related expenses.

He said that the petitioner had apprehensions that PSL records could be destroyed to cover up the alleged financial irregularities. He submitted that refusing to make PCB’s records public is violation of Article 19-A of the Constitution.

He said that even the complete records of PSL-I and PSL-II were not sent to the auditor general of Pakistan. He requested the court to issue directions to preserve Pakistan Super League record and provide details to him and also requested Pakistan Cricket Board finance chief to provide the country’s accountability bureau with complete records. After hearing both sides, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan disposed of the petition and ordered ministry to decide petitioner’s application.