The Court of Appeal has ordered to take up the petition challenging the eligibility of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to hold a parliamentary seat on January 31 for confirmation of submissions.
The writ of quo warranto against the Premier was taken up before Court of Appeal judge bench consisting of Justice Arjuna Obeysekara today (22).
The petition filed by the Chair of Women’s Organization for Justice Shamila Gonawala, a Colombo Municipal Council member of the Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), accuses Wickremesinghe of doing business with the state with his family company Lake House Printers & publishers.
The petitioner argued that the Wickremesinghe held 1.33 percent of equity in Lake House Printers & publishers, a publicly listed company, in violation of the constitution. The petition says that the company is a supplier of check books to two state-banks, Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank.
She pointed out that financial gain from contractual agreements with public institutions is illegal as a Member of Parliament and therefore, the he should be disqualified from being an MP.
She argued that Article 91(1)(e) of the constitution prevented individuals who hold any interest in public contracts running for parliament.
The petitioner has sought an interim order preventing PM Wickremesinghe from Parliament sitting and voting.
