An attempt by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club which is under the purview of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping to obtain an exparté Enjoining Order against the conducting of the SLC Premier League 2016/2017 by Sri Lanka Cricket was refused by the District Court of Colombo yesterday.
The SL Ports Authority application relied on an objection made in February 2016 by the SL Ports Authority against the Badureliya Cricket Club with regards to the playing of two foreign nationals in the 2015/2016 tournament, and claimed that SL Ports Authority was relegated to a lower tier in the 2016/2017 tournament due to this.
When this matter was supported in court on 8/12/2016, the lawyers appearing for Sri Lanka Cricket, intervened to the said action and objected to the issuing of an Enjoining Order against SLC holding the Premier Tournaments 2016/2017 and submitted to court that the plaintiff had already participated in the preliminary round of the current tournament, and therefore was making an application in order to maliciously disrupt the conducting of the tournament.
The SLC lawyers submitted that:
1.) The Plaintiff was delayed in coming to court and therefore guilty of laches
2.) The plaintiff has participated in fixture meetings, obtained the participation fee and even played one match thus far.
3.) The Tournament was underway with 13 matches already played at a considerable cost and investment therefore an irreparable loss and damage would be caused to Sri Lanka Cricket and the players involved.
4.) This tournament is the feeding ground for National selections and any disruption would result in an irreparable loss and damage to National Cricket.
After the said objections were made, court reserved the order for yesterday (9/12/2016) and when the matter was called in open court, the Honourable District Judge refused the granting of the Enjoining Order as prayed for in the plaint of the plaintiff (SLPACC).
