A petition has been filed with the Court of Appeal seeking an order to invalidate the parliamentary membership of Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala. The petition has been filed by the Governing Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, Renuka Perera.
Minister Ananda Wijepala, the Secretary General of Parliament and the Attorney General have been named as the respondents.
The petitioner has stated in the relevant petition that Ananda Wijepala was appointed as the Minister of Public Security by the President on November 18th.
The petition also states that the Sunday Times newspaper published on December 10th reported that Ananda Wijepala had been appointed as the President’s Chief of Staff.
The petitioner has stated that he later made a request under the Right to Information Act regarding this matter and confirmed that Minister Ananda Wijepala had been appointed as the President’s Chief of Staff.
The petitioner states that under Article 91 of the Constitution, a person engaged in public service is not eligible to sit in Parliament and vote.
The petitioner points out that the position of Chief of Staff to the President is a public setvent and accordingly, the petitioner has pointed out that Minister Ananda Wijepala is not eligible to hold the office of Member of Parliament while holding such a position.
Accordingly, the petitioner has requested the court to rule that Minister Ananda Wijepala is not eligible to hold the office of Member of Parliament in accordance with the Constitution and to render a decision nullifying his office.