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ST objections force reconstitution of Press Council
View(s):The Sri Lanka Press Council (SLPC) dissolved itself recently and then was reconstituted following prior objections to its composition by the Sunday Times during hearings to a complaint by the former Women and Child Affairs Ministry Secretary.
When seeking an order on the preliminary objections raised by the newspaper’s lawyers, the Press Council admitted that the new Council was reconstituted as a solution to the preliminary objections raised by the Counsel for the Sunday Times and has held out that the Council is now properly constituted.
After the Press Council took up for hearing the complaint against the newspaper, Manoli Jinadasa, Counsel for the Sunday Times, raised preliminary objections that the Press Council was improperly constituted as the appointments made to the Council were invalid and not been made in terms of the law.
In accordance with the Press Council Act, in addition to the Director of Information in his ex-officio capacity, six other members are to be appointed by the President of Sri Lanka, as members to the Council.
The law says, one member shall represent the working journalists and the member should be selected from a panel of not more than seven persons nominated by the journalists’ associations in Sri Lanka. Another member should represent the interests of the employees of newspaper businesses after being selected from panels of not more than three persons nominated by each registered trade union of such employees.
Counsel for the Sunday Times pointed out that election of these two members had to be made in the manner specified in the Act as specific provision was included in the procedure for such selection.
Preliminary objections were raised upon verification from several journalists associations which confirmed that they have not been requested to forward nominations as specified in the Act.
Subsequently, the Sunday Times also wrote to the Presidential Secretariat under the Right to Information Act and sought further information pertaining to the appointments to the Press Council.
Counsel pointed out that based on information provided by the Presidential Secretariat under the Right to Information Act, it clearly demonstrated that the appointments made to the Press Council were completely invalid as there was a gross failure to satisfy the requirements of the Act.
Upon submission of the objections on the composition of the Press Council, the Council was disbanded and a new Council was reconstituted, the Chairman of the Council stated and proceeded to hear the matter on the basis that the new Council was properly constituted.
However, as the complainant, Chandrani Senaratne, former Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, was not present or represented on two consecutive hearings, the Press Council ruled to dismiss the complaint.
While serving as the Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, Ms. Senaratne had lodged a complaint that a news item published in the Sunday Times of September 3, 2017 was ‘incorrect and inappropriate’ and that the article was ‘unacceptable and defamatory’ to the image of Ms D.S. Wijesekara, an Additional Secretary of the Ministry.
The Sunday Times in its report said how a senior ministry official who had completed her term as a National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) director had forced her way into a meeting of the NCPA’s Director Board and intimidated those present. The newspaper stood by its story.
The original Council before it was reconstituted comprised Attorney at Law Koggala Wellala Bandula (chairman), the Director General of Government Information (ex-officio), Sudharshana Gunawaradena, Prof. Sunanda Mahendra, Ariyananda Dombagahawatta, Prof. Rohana Luxman Piyadasa, Gamini Sumanasekara and S. Thilainathan.
Subsequently, Mr Sumansekara and Prof. Piyadasa were replaced by Somaweera Chandrasiri and Muditha Kariyakarawana.
The Sunday Times reserved its comments on the legality of the newly constituted council.
Shehara Karunaratne, Attorney at Law appeared for the Sunday Times with Senior Counsel Manoli Jinadasa.