Kumara vs. Returning Officer, Gampola Urban Council and Others – sllr 2021 volume 1 page 463

The case between Kumara (Petitioner) and the Returning Officer of Gampola Urban Council, General Secretary of the United National Party (UNP), and select members of the UNP’s Working Committee (Respondents) addressed whether the expulsion of the petitioner from the UNP, pursuant to internal party disciplinary rules, and the subsequent removal of the petitioner from office as Chairman of Gampola Urban Council were reviewable under writ jurisdiction. It was held that internal disciplinary decisions of political parties, grounded in contractual arrangements and lacking statutory or public authority, are not subject to judicial review, and that the actions of the Returning Officer under Section 10A of the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, being purely ministerial, are likewise non-reviewa