The Court of Appeal yesterday ordered that a petition filed by former Deputy Secretary General of Parliament, Chaminda Kularatne, seeking the issuance of a writ order to nullify the decision to suspend him without conducting a fair inquiry, be taken up for consideration on 18 March, 2026.

The petition was taken up yesterday (03) before a bench comprising President of the Court of Appeal Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.

The petitioner, Chaminda Kularatne, was present in court when the plaint was called.

After considering the submissions made by counsel appearing for both the petitioner and the respondents, the bench ordered that the petition be taken up for consideration on 18 March, 2026, for the confirmation of facts.

The writ application highlighted several critical legal and procedural flaws:

Under the Parliamentary Staff Act, the Secretary General (1st Respondent) is the sole disciplinary authority.

The Parliamentary Staff Advisory Committee (PSAC) has no legal power to interdict staff, rendering its decision ultra vires and null and void.

The petitioner has alleged that the Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne acted out of malice to suspend him against the principles of administrative law and natural justice.

The petitioner has contended that the Speaker obtained a report containing false information from an unlawfully appointed inquiry officer and based the suspension on those findings.

The Speaker allegedly hand-picked an inquiry officer (8th Respondent) to conduct a preliminary inquiry without legal mandate, even though the Petitioner’s appointment and qualifications had already been officially confirmed and announced to the House in 2023.

At the time the decision was made, the PSAC was not lawfully constituted, as it lacked representatives from the Opposition and included members whose appointments did not meet statutory requirements.

Kularatne has petitioned the Court of Appeal, seeking Writs of Certiorari to quash the appointment of the investigating officer, the preliminary inquiry report, and the resulting interdiction imposed upon him. He further seeks the production and examination of records relating to the purported preliminary inquiry, together with relevant Right to Information (RTI) files, in order to expose the procedural irregularities, lack of lawful authority, and bias underlying the disciplinary process.

Kularatne is represented by a senior legal team, including President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena.

In addition to the court case, further actions have been taken regarding alleged corruption. The suspended Deputy Secretary General has submitted a 7-page complaint to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The complaint detailed eight alleged acts of corruption committed by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne and his Private Secretary, Chameera Gallege. A group of opposition Members of Parliament also filed a complaint with the Bribery Commission against Chameera Gallege.

They claim that Mr. Gallege interfered with the investigation by requesting a report from the Secretary General of Parliament regarding the initial complaint, thereby exerting undue influence on the proceedings.