Rajaratnam v. Dayananda Dissanayake Commissioner of Elections and Others – sllr 2004 volume 1 page 030

In the case between Rajaratnam (Petitioner) and Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections, and others (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether a person who had never been a member of the United National Party could be validly expelled from that party, thereby creating a vacancy in the office held under the Provincial Councils Elections Act, No. 2 of 1988. It was held that expulsion from a political party as a means to vacate an elected office applies only to actual party members, and that an order issued without jurisdiction is invalid and a nullity. The holding reaffirmed the principle that legality of an administrative act is dependent upon jurisdiction and compliance with statutory preconditions. This decision relied on interpretation of sections 63(1) and 65(2) of