Treasury Secretary may have to face contempt of court charges: Upul Jayasuriya PC

• Says received information that the Treasury Secretary has once again informed ECSL of his inability to release funds
• Warns if so, he is in serious violation of a court order and could face contempt charges
• Assures the Samagi Lawyers Association will take necessary steps and highlights that any citizen could go before courts to inform of actions which may be in contempt of court

President’s Counsel Upul Jayasuriya

Samagi Lawyers Association member, President’s Counsel Upul Jayasuriya says Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana may have to face contempt of court charges if he has in fact informed the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) that he is unable to release the funds required for the local Government polls. “Despite the claims that the Treasury Secretary has not responded to the request for funds it has come to our knowledge that he has in fact responded and told the ECSL he is unable to release the required amount. This is a serious situation,” he said. Jayasuriya said if the Treasury Secretary has initiated this to the ECSL, he is in serious violation of the court order issued on 2 March and could face contempt of court charges as a result of it. The senior lawyer made these comments at a press conference held at the Opposition Leader’s office in Colombo yesterday.

The Supreme Court on the day issued an interim order on the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General representing the Minister of Finance, preventing them from withholding funds allocated in the budget for the local Government elections of 2023. The interim order was issued by the Apex court when it took up the petition filed by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara requesting that the Government be ordered to release the necessary funds for the conduct of the local Government elections. The Supreme Court also issued another order preventing the withholding of any funds from the Government Printer. However, the Treasury has failed to release any funds since the court order despite repeated requests from the ECSL and the Government Printer.

Jayasuriya said a person found guilty in such a case, will not be able to secure his release through a Presidential pardon alone. “Even the President will have to seek the opinion of the court that delivered the judgement and will only be allowed to pardon him based on the court’s recommendation,” he said. Responding to a question by the media, Jayasuriya said the association is prepared to take the necessary steps regarding it at the right time. He said any citizen in the country can inform the court of any incident where a person or group of persons has been in contempt of court. “Even in this instance where a person has violated a court order, any person can lodge a complaint in this regard,” he added.