(UTV | COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court decided to dismiss all the petitions filed seeking to quash the Cabinet’s decision to transfer 40% of the government-owned shares of the Kerawalapitiya Yugadanavi Power Plant to U.S. Company New Fortress Energy.
The Supreme Court had made the decision to dismiss all the petitions without taking them up for examination as well.
The petitions were dismissed by a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya and comprising Justices Buwaneka Aluvihare, Priyantha Jayawardena, Vijith Malalgoda, LTB Dehideniya.
Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya had noted that the five-judge bench had no intention to examine these applications, and the decision to dismiss them was made after considering all the facts that were presented in favor and against the applications.
Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, General-Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Sunil Handunnetti and Wasantha Samarasinghe from the JPV, Trade Unions, and multiple other groups filed the five petitions with the Supreme Court.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Cabinet of Ministers, West Coast Power Pvt. Ltd., New Fortress Energy, USA, and the Attorney General were among those named as the respondents.
It must be noted that Udaya Gammanpila, Wimal Weerawansa, and Vasudeva Nanayakkara filed applications in support of the petitions, whilst being named as respondents.
The Attorney General earlier filing preliminary objections to these petitions before the five-judge Supreme Court bench said the petitions were filed after the constitutional deadline for filing a fundamental rights petition and that there was no legal basis for the petitions.