The court has ordered former Minister A.H.M. Fowzie to pay Rs. 6.6 million in compensation for a violation of fundamental rights and to publish public apologies in newspapers.
The Supreme Court has ruled that former Minister A.H.M. Fowzie violated fundamental rights by using a vehicle—provided by the Netherlands government for disaster management activities in Sri Lanka—for personal purposes. The Court ordered the payment of Rs. 6.6 million to the Government’s Consolidated Fund in this regard, with the Supreme Court ruling that Rs. 1,664,334.93 of this amount must be paid within one month and the remainder within two months.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court ordered the publication of an apology—occupying half a page and including a photograph of the vehicle in question—on the front pages of the Silumina, Sunday Observer, and Thinakaran newspapers within one month.
These rulings were delivered by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva, and Arjuna Obeyesekere.
This fundamental rights petition was filed by Chandra Jayaratne, the former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.