DCB court matter adjourned until Feb. 28

The court matter between the two feuding factions of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) will be further prolonged after an adjournment in the High Court yesterday until February 28.

According to Roysdale Forde and Anil Nandlall the matter will be heard on February 28 after Justice James Bovell-Drakes granted the defendants Bissondyal  Singh  and members of his faction time to produce an affidavit in response to the claims that were brought by Krishnchand Mangal, the Secretary of the rival faction.

Bissoondyal Singh

According to Nandlall his team, that includes Fitz Peters and Emily Dodson,  has two days to submit this document.

Further Nandlall stated that the written submissions will be argued at the next court date. Nandlall in a brief statement to Stabroek Sport said that the urgency in concluding the court matter that the two sides have been embroiled in for the past year was explained to the court.

Meanwhile, the original injunction was applied for by Mangal through his Attorney Roysdale Forde on behalf of the Raj Singh faction of the DCB last Tuesday.

The judge had ordered last Wednesday that Bissoondyal Singh and his executive be restrained from “acting, operating, performing, functioning and or discharging in any manner whatsoever any of the functions, duties, and or obligations of or belonging to the DCB and also from holding themselves out whether individually as Office Bearers of the DCB and or jointly as the Executive Committee of the said DCB until the hearing and determination of a summons returnable for the 14th day of February, 20111, at 9:15 a.m.”.

The defendants named by Mangal are Bissoondyal Singh, Roger Harper, Pretipaul Jaigobin, Davteerth Anandjit, Samaroo Jailall, Edward Richmond, Nigel Bissu, Neil Barry, Shawn Massiah, Manoj Narayan, Claude Raphael and Ronald Williams.

In Mangal’s affidavit he had stated that the actions by the defendants to appoint sub-committees and “assessing unlawfully the authority of the DCB” would harm the image of the Board and bring the game into disrepute. He also said that prior to the order that was made by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang last month, the “management, suspension, promotion and organisation of the game” was at a “standstill”, claiming that there were no competitions last year. “…That should the defendants be permitted to operate as the lawfully elected executive of the DCB it would cause substantial harm and injury to the said cricket board.

“That I am also advised by Mr. Roysdale A. Forde, Attorney-at-Law and verily believe that I have a good cause of action against the defendants,” the affidavit read.