Karunathilaka and Another v. Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections and Others (Case No.1) – sllr 1999 volume 1 page 157

In the case between Karunathilaka and Another (plaintiffs) and Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections, and Others (defendants), the court addressed whether the postponement of Provincial Council elections through a Proclamation and impugned Regulation, and the suspension of postal voting, violated the petitioners’ constitutional rights. It was held that the purported cancellation of the poll date and suspension of postal voting lacked valid legal basis and amounted to an infringement of the fundamental rights to equality before the law and freedom of speech, guaranteed by Articles 12(1) and 14(1)(a) of the Constitution. The applicable statutory framework, including the Provincial Councils Elections Act and Public Security Ordinance, did not empower the actions taken by the respon