Ferial Ismail Ashraff Vs W.B,D Dassanayake et al. – CA WRIT 120/2015-2017

In the case between Ferial Ismail Ashraff (petitioner) and W.B.D. Dassanayake, Secretary General of Parliament, and others (respondents), the court addressed whether a former Member of Parliament, who is also the widow of a deceased pension-recipient MP, is entitled under the Parliamentary Pensions Law to receive both a personal pension and a widow’s pension concurrently. It was held that Section 7B of the Parliamentary Pensions Law prohibits a single individual from receiving more than one pension under the Act. The decision reaffirmed the principle that statutory language must be harmonized and interpreted to reflect legislative intent, precluding multiple pensions for a single beneficiary. The ruling was based on an analysis of amendments to the Parliamentary Pensions Law and rules of s