Galkandage Sahasra Sandeepa Perera vs Mr. Harsha Guruge – SC F/R NO. 335/2018-2020

In the case between Galkandage Sahasra Sandeepa Perera (Petitioner) and, among others, the District Scout Commissioner and the Chief Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Scout Association (Respondents), the Supreme Court addressed whether the refusal to confer the President’s Scout Award amounted to “executive or administrative action” amenable to fundamental rights jurisdiction under Articles 17 and 126 of the Constitution. The findings established that the Sri Lanka Scout Association and the Ceylon Scout Council do not qualify as organs or instrumentalities of the State and that the conduct complained of does not constitute “executive or administrative action” within the meaning of the Constitution. The principle reaffirmed is that fundamental rights jurisdiction can be invoked only where the v