AG’s Dept. counters Appeal Court stay order on CFSL
The Attorney General’s Department has stated that the Court of Appeal (CoA) lacks judicial authority to entertain an application seeking to suspend the election of office bearers at the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL).
Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) Manohara Jayasinghe, presenting objections, argued that the CFSL is not a governmental institution and, therefore, the court cannot issue a stay order to prevent the federation from holding its elections. He also contended that the petitioners do not have standing to seek legal intervention in this matter.
Appearing before a two-member bench comprising Court of Appeal Judges M.T. Lafar and P. Kumararatnam, DSG Jayasinghe emphasised that, although the CFSL operates under the Sports Act and falls under the purview of the Minister of Sports, the responsibility for conducting elections rests solely with the federation and not with the state. He further clarified that while the state, through the Director General of Sports, may mediate in cases of internal or administrative disputes within sports bodies, it cannot interfere in their electoral processes.
Jayasinghe also pointed out that the Director General of Sports may, in exceptional circumstances, dissolve a sports body and act as a Competent Authority to facilitate elections. However, this facilitation is limited to an observational role and does not constitute government intervention. Misinterpreting such facilitation as state involvement is a flawed perspective driven by erroneous motivations, he argued.
Attorney-at-Law Piyumi Seneviratne, representing the petitioners alongside Senior Counsel Hijaaz Hisbullah, countered that their clients sought legal intervention to restore the voting rights of CFSL affiliates who were unfairly and baselessly disenfranchised.
The petitioners, including former President of the Kurunegala District Cycling Association and retired Deputy Inspector General of Police K.P.P. Pathirana, along with former Secretary of the Kurunegala District Cycling Association Nimal Bulathsinhala, alleged that the CFSL wrongfully terminated their membership and rejected their nominations for the elections.
The Court of Appeal has scheduled the next hearing for February 18 and extended the stay order preventing the CFSL elections until that date.