August 21, Colombo (LNW): Three new petitions have been brought before the Supreme Court, as opposition mounts against a contentious government bill seeking to remove privileges granted to former Presidents. The latest petitions allege that key sections of the proposed legislation are fundamentally incompatible with the nation’s Constitution.
The legal actions have been initiated by Mahinda Pathirana, a lecturer from the University of Sabaragamuwa; Raveendra Manoj Gamage, an attorney-at-law and former media secretary to ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa; and retired Navy Chief of Staff, Mohan Wijewickrama. The Attorney General has been cited as the respondent in all three cases.
At the core of the challenge are Clauses 1 through 4 of the bill, which the petitioners argue breach the constitutional principle of separation of powers. They assert that the proposed law, in its current form, not only infringes upon the independence of state institutions but also undermines the sovereignty of the citizenry, which is enshrined in the country’s foundational legal document.
According to the petitioners, the bill disregards several essential constitutional safeguards, notably those outlined in Articles 1, 3, 4, and 12(1). These include provisions related to the supremacy of the Constitution, the sovereignty of the people, the framework of governmental authority, and the guarantee of equal rights under the law.
In their appeals, the petitioners have urged the Supreme Court to declare that the contentious clauses cannot be lawfully enacted unless they receive the backing of a two-thirds majority in Parliament, followed by approval through a national referendum. Such a requirement, they contend, is necessary given the bill’s potential to alter core democratic structures and civil liberties.
This wave of legal scrutiny follows an earlier petition lodged by Renuka Perera, Administrative Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), along with two others, signalling broad-based concern over the implications of the proposed legislation.
