Court stays LG delimitation gazette till 4 December
BY KAVINDYA PERERA-2017-11-23
The Gazette notification deals with the precise number of members that could be elected to all the LG bodies.
The decision was given by the Court of Appeal (CoA) following the hearing of the petition filed against the delimitation of LG bodies by a group of voters in six LG bodies.
The petition was taken up before a three-Judge bench comprising the presiding Judge President of the Court of Appeal, Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya, Justices Kumudini Wickramasinghe and Shiran Gunaratne.
The CoA bench also ordered Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Faiszer Musthapha and the Secretary to the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government to appear in Court on 4 December.
The petition was submitted by six citizens with voting rights including Wathugedera Wijeratne, residents of Colombo, Kandy, Hali-Ela, Matara and Embilipitiya, while Minister Musthapha and the Secretary of the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government were named as the respondents in the petition. The petitioners have claimed that the Extraordinary Gazette notification (2006/44) issued on 17 February 2017 by the Minister had disregarded the recommendations of the Subcommittee appointed to carry out the demarcation of LG bodies. They have pointed out that such actions are unlawful and that the Minister has no authority to do so. Therefore, they request the Court to issue an order invalidating the said Gazette notification.
