News
SC rules certain clauses in LG polls Bill inconsistent with Constitution
In its current form, it requires special majority for passage
Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne yesterday informed the Parliament that certain clauses in the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill were inconsistent with the Constitution.
The Speaker further said those sections required a special majority for passage.
The Supreme Court has determined that the Bill could be passed by a simple majority if the amendments proposed to the Bill by the Supreme Court are incorporated into it, the Speaker said.
Full text of the Speaker’s announcement: I wish to announce that I have received the determination of the Supreme Court on the Bill titled “Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions)” challenged in the Supreme Court under Article 121 (1) of the Constitution, which had been heard before a bench of three Judges.
Accordingly, two Judges constituting the majority of the bench held that: The Bill read as a whole and, in particular, Clauses 2 and 3 is inconsistent with Article 12(1) of the Constitution and can be only passed with the special majority required under paragraph (2) of Article 84.
The remaining Judge of the bench had held that: The Bill as a whole or any provision thereof is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and may be enacted with a simple majority of Parliament.I order that the full determination of the Supreme Court be printed in the official report of today’s proceedings.”
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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