A.D. Susil Premajayantha vs P.A.S. Senaratna – CA 122/2011-2011

In the case between A.D. Susil Premajayantha, Secretary of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) (Petitioner), and P.A.S. Senaratna (Returning Officer), Dayananda Dissanayake (Commissioner of Elections), and others (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the rejection of the UPFA’s nomination papers for local authority elections due to minor discrepancies in affidavits of youth candidates was lawful. It was held that minor irregularities, such as a discrepancy in a candidate’s name that does not affect identification, do not provide sufficient grounds for the rejection of nomination papers. The principle reaffirmed was that the right to franchise must not be prejudiced by technicalities, and the powers of the returning officer are not to be exercised arbitrarily. Relia