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Court rejects FR petition seeking the rejection of Ramanayake’s nomination
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
The Supreme Court this week dismissed the fundamental rights petition seeking an order to reject the nomination of former MP and United Democratic Voice (UDV) leader Ranjan Ramanayake to contest from the Gampaha district at the 2024 general election.
The SC bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe and Achala Wengappuli dismissed the petition after considering preliminary objections raised by the Attorney General and Counsel appearing for Mr Ramanayake.
The petition had been filed by Mahinda Senanayake, a candidate from an independent group contesting the election in the Gampaha district.
When the petition was taken up before the court, counsel for the petitioner, Dinal Philips, PC, argued that neither the district Returning Officer nor the Election Commission should have accepted the nomination of Mr Ramanayake given that he had been stripped of his civic rights for seven years after being found guilty of contempt of court. As such, he requested the court to issue an order to reject his nomination.
Deputy Solicitor General Dr. Avanthi Perera, appearing for the Attorney General, raised a preliminary objection that only an election petition can challenge a candidate’s eligibility to become an MP. She argued that a Returning Officer or the Election Commission had no power to reject a candidate’s nomination based on the facts raised by the petitioner.
Nizam Kariapper, PC, appearing for Mr Ramanayake, stated that a fundamental rights petition cannot challenge person’s candidature after the Returning Officer has accepted their nomination papers.
He further pointed out that though the petitioner has requested the court to issue an order to reject the nomination, the petition does not include the name of the contesting candidate or the party as respondents. As such, there were no legal grounds to continue with the petition, he told court.
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