The contract of the current PDBF MD was scheduled to expire on 20 December 2023. However, the Board of Governors of PDBF in its 94th meeting on October 17 declared the existing regulation void and decided to extend the MD's contract as per the rules. The foundation's board had approved it 23 years ago.
The decision was taken after sending a letter to the MD with extension of contract for three years on October 30, and issuing a gazette on the revised MD appointment rules more than a month and a half later on December 20. Normally, issuing rules by an autonomous body requires scrutiny by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Law Ministry, and this was not followed for the PDBF's revised rules.
PDBF documents and meeting minutes show that the meeting was informed that the rules on the appointment of the PDBF managing director, issued on May 23, 2000, have been reinstated by a High Court judgment in 2018. The Appellate Division also upheld the High Court's decision on 17 December 2017, thus, the rules issued in 2020 become void.