Lt. Commander Ruwan Pathirana vs Commodore Dharmasiriwardene – sllr 2007 volume 1 page 024

In the case between Lt. Commander Ruwan Pathirana (petitioner) and Commodore Dharmasiriwardene & Others (respondents), the court examined whether a writ of certiorari should be issued to quash the petitioner’s conviction and sentence arising from a Court Martial under the Navy Act, considering alleged defects in the charge sheet and the petitioner’s contention of improper denial of his right to private defence. The decision established that the material suppression of the petitioner’s prior appeal to the President constituted a fundamental breach of the duty of full and frank disclosure (uberrima fides), thereby disentitling the petitioner to relief. The findings attributed no substantive merit to claims regarding defects in the charge sheet or the joint trial, reaffirming that procedural