Sri Lanka Rugby President to stay in office: Court of Appeal

Sri Lanka Rugby informed the Court of Appeal yesterday that no action will be taken against the President of Sri Lanka Rugby, Rizly Illyas until 27 January 2023.

Shanta Jayawardena, the lawyer who represented the SLR, gave this notice when the petition was submitted by Rizly Illyas, called today to invalidate the letter sent by the Minister of Sports to SLR to remove him from the position of President of SLR.

This petition was called yesterday before the Court of Appeal Appellate Court Bench consisting of Sobitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola.

President’s lawyer Faiz, who represented the petitioner President, Rizly Ilyas presented the facts before the court and argued that the sports minister has no power to remove his client. He pointed out that only Sri Lanka Rugby has the authority in that regard.

Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, Secretary of the Ministry, the Director General of Sports and SLR have been named as respondents in this petition.

The petitioner points out that the Sports Minister does not have the authority to issue such a letter and states in the petition that it goes beyond the provisions of the Sports Act. The petitioner has requested the court to rule that this letter of the sports minister is against the law and to issue a writ overruling that decision.

In addition, the petition has also requested that an interim restraining order stay the letter issued by the Sports Minister until the petition is heard and a final decision is announced.

The petitioner has further requested the court to issue an interim order to prevent the Minister of Sports, the Secretary of the Ministry and the Director General of Sports from interfering in their affairs.

The petition is scheduled to be confirmed on 27 January 2023. (SJ)