Devananda v. Dayananda Dissanayake (Commissioner of Elections and Others) – sllr 2000 volume 3 page 127

In the case between the Secretary-General of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (E.P.D.P.) representing Independent Group No.2 and the Commissioner of Elections, Returning Officer for Jaffna, and certain candidates, the court addressed the issue of the legal effect of resignation letters tendered by candidates and the correct procedure for filling parliamentary vacancies under the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981. It was held that the resignation of candidates exhausts the nomination paper within the meaning of Section 64(3) (“exhausted by election or otherwise”), thereby requiring the Returning Officer and Commissioner of Elections to invite the authorized person to nominate replacements, rather than unilaterally declaring seats as filled. The decision reaffirmed that statutory