A.D. Susil Premajayantha and Sunil Shantha Herath vs. Commissioner of Elections and Others – CA 117/2011-2011

In the case between A.D. Susil Premajayantha and Sunil Shantha Herath (on behalf of the United People’s Freedom Alliance – UPFA) and Mr. Dayananda Dissanayake (Commissioner of Elections) and others, the court addressed whether the rejection of UPFA’s nomination paper for the Nawagattegama Pradeshiya Sabha election, solely for lacking a Justice of the Peace’s (JP) seal despite the presence of a JP signature, complied with legal requirements. It was held that the nomination paper’s rejection was unlawful, as both Section 28(5) of the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance and related provisions required only the JP’s signature for attestation and not an official seal. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that substantive compliance with statutory formalities suffices, and minor technical err