Ranil’s emergency regulations in 2022 violated fundamental rights
The Supreme Court, in a majority ruling, stated today that Fundamental Rights were breached by then Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s directives to remove the ‘Aragalaya’ protestors from Galle Face on 17 July 2022, using Emergency Regulations under the Public Security Act.
Most of the judges on the three-member panel determined that the Emergency Regulations issued by the Acting President under Section 2 of the Public Security Act were unreasonable and thus invalid.
Chief Justice Murdu Fernando and Justice Yasantha Kodagoda delivered the majority verdict.
Justice Arjuna Obeysekara, a member of the bench, stated in his separate judgment that the Acting President’s declaration of Emergency Regulations did not violate fundamental human rights.
The fundamental rights petitions were submitted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), ex-Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Ambika Satkunanathan, and the Liberal Youth Movement.
Furthermore, the Court mandated that the government cover the legal expenses incurred by the petitioners.
