Speaker (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne announced to the House today (Feb. 14) that he has received the determination of the Supreme Court on the Bill titled “Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions)” challenged in the Supreme Court under Article 121 (1) of the Constitution, which had been heard before a bench of three Judges.
The Speaker announced that two Judges constituting the majority of the bench had held that the Bill read as a whole and in particularly Clauses 2 and 3 is inconsistent with Article 12(1) of the Constitution and can be only passed with the special majority required under paragraph (2) of Article 84.
Furthermore, he also announced that the remaining Judge of the bench had held that The Bill as a whole or any provision thereof is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and may be enacted with a simple majority of Parliament.
