The Constitutional Court has unanimously dismissed a petition seeking a ruling against the continued tenure of National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) chairman Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck.
The judges on Thursday found that the petitioner had not demonstrated a direct violation of his constitutional rights or freedoms.
The complaint was filed by Metha Matkhao, a political activist and acting secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy (CPD).
Mr Metha asked the court to rule that under Section 213 of the constitution, Dr Sarana and a number of others had failed to take action as required by law.
Also named in the complaint were Trairat Viriyasirikul, the acting secretary-general of the NBTC; Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the secretary-general of the Senate and his predecessor.
The petition alleged that their failure had allowed Dr Sarana to continue serving as NBTC chairman, in violation of Sections 18 and 20 of the Frequency Allocation Act.
Mr Metha also cited Sections 3, 6, 180 and 182 of the constitution to claim his rights and liberties had been violated through the unlawful exercise of state power.
However, the court found that neither the petition nor the accompanying documents demonstrated how Mr Metha had been directly affected or suffered damage as a result of the actions of the people named in the petition.
Paralysis continues
The NBTC board on Wednesday failed to hold a meeting for the ninth consecutive time due to lack of a quorum.
The paralysis stems from the protracted legal dispute related to the status of the Dr Sarana.
Three members have consistently boycotted meetings as they say any decisions taken under the current chairman could later be challenged if his dismissal is upheld.
The Senate committee overseeing NBTC appointments voted in July this year to disqualify the high-profile heart specialist on grounds that he continued to work and receive compensation from a state-run hospital after being named to the NBTC board in 2021.
He has challenged the finding, with both the Central Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court hearing arguments. Prime Minister Anutin earlier signed an order to dismiss Dr Sarana but that too is on hold pending further legal clarity.
NBTC commissioners are among the highest-paid among their peers at state agencies and enterprises, with salaries and allowances totalling 360,000 baht a month. The chairman’s compensation is 450,000 baht a month.