The Supreme Court has dismissed the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition seeking to prevent the holding of the Presidential Election on the grounds that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was not properly passed in Parliament. The court’s decision, subject to costs, was issued when the petition filed by Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri was taken up for consideration today (15) before a Supreme Court judge bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justices Arjuna Obeysekara, and Priyantha Fernando.
Accordingly, the court ordered the petition dismissed, with costs of Rs 500,000 to be paid by the petitioner before July 31, 2024.
The petition argued that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was not properly passed in Parliament and called for a referendum to ensure its proper passage. The Election Commission and its members, the General Secretary of Parliament, and the Attorney General were named as respondents in this petition.
The petitioner claimed that through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, Article 70 was amended to deprive the President of the power to dissolve an elected Parliament after one year has passed. The petitioner asserted that the amendment had not been approved by a referendum, despite a Supreme Court ruling that it should be.
The petitioner pointed out that the amendment could not be considered law because it had not been approved by a referendum and signed by the President. Therefore, the petitioner argued, it was wrong to continue to accept the 19th Amendment as law.
