IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA In the matter of an application for the offence of Contempt of Court under and in terms of Article 105(3) of the Constitution of the of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

SC /Contempt No. 02/2023 Herath Mudiyanselage Vijitha Herath No. 464/20 Pannipitiya Road, Pelawatta, Battaramulla. Complainant-Petitioner Vs.

K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana Secretary to the Treasury Ministry of Finance The Secretariat Colombo 01.

Contemnor-Respondent SC /Contempt No. 03/2023 Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Madduma Bandara No. 31/3, Kandawatte Terrace Nugegoda.

Complainant-Petitioner Vs.

K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana Secretary to the Treasury Ministry of Finance The Secretariat Colombo 01.

Contemnor-Respondent Before : Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, CJ Buwaneka Aluwihare, PC, J.

Priyantha Jayawardena, PC, J.

Vijith K. Malalgoda, PC, J.

Murdu N.B. Fernando, PC,J.

Counsel : Upul Kumarapperuma with Kaneel Maddumage, Radha Kuruwitabandara & Dulini Godagamage for the Complainant-

Petitioner in SC. Contempt No. 02/2023.

G. Alagaratnam, PC with Suren Fernando, Sandamali Rajapaksha, Lasantha Garusinghe, Luwie Ganeshadasan, Nisala Seniya Fernando and Supuni Gunasekara for the Complainant-

Petitioner in SC. Contempt No. 03/2023.

Eraj de Silva with Hafeel Faris , N.K. Ashokbharan, Janaka Sundaramoorthy, Daminda Wijeratne for the Contemnor –

Respondent instructed by Vidanapathirana Associates in SC.

Contempt No.02/2023 & SC. Contempt No. 03/2023.

Written Submissions : 05^th June 2023 on behalf of Attorney General in case Nos.

filed on SC. Contempt/02/2023 and SC. Contempt/03/2023.

07^th June 2023 by the Contemnor – Respondent in Case No. SC.

Contempt/ 02/2023

08^th June 2023 Preliminary written submissions by the Contemnor – Respondent in Case No. SC. Contempt/ 03/2023.

21^st June 2023 by Contemnor – Respondent in Case No. SC.

07^th June 2023 by the Contemnor – Respondent in Case No. SC.

Contempt/ 02/2023.

Argued on : 22.05.2023 Decided on : 14.11.2023 In both these matters K.M.Mahinda Siriwardane, Secretary to the Treasury is named as the Contemnor-Respondent (hereinafter referred to as the respondent). Furthermore, both these matters are described as applications for the offence of contempt of court under and in terms of Article 105(3) of the Constitution. While SC Contempt 02/2023 is filed by Herath Mudiyanselage Vijitha Herath, Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Madduma Bandara has filed SC Contempt 03/2023. Both have identified themselves as complainant-petitioner in the respective applications.

These applications have been filed on the basis that the respondent willfully refused to abide by the Order of this Court dated 03 March 2023 in SC FR 69/2023 and failed to honour the aforesaid Order. Petitioners have further claimed that the respondent disregarded the aforesaid Order. They contend that the respondent had unduly interfered with the due administration of justice by his aforesaid conduct and thereby he had committed the offence of contempt of court, punishable under Article 105(3) of the Constitution.

In view of the fact that the cause of action pleaded in both these matters arise from the same conduct of the respondent and the fact that both petitioners have claimed the identical relief, they were listed together for support and all parties agreed that a single judgment can be delivered in relation to both these matters.

Both petitioners claim that the respondent was cited as the 1^st respondent in SC FR

69/2023. The said application had been filed on the basis that arbitrary, wrongful, malicious, capricious, illegal, unlawful and pernicious actions and/or decisions of the respondent and/or actions or decisions of the Minister of Defence, Finance, Economic Stabilisation, National Policies, Technology, Investment Promotion, Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment to not provide adequate funds to the members of the Election Commission for the purpose of conducting Local Government Elections have violated Funda