A.D. Susil Premjayanth Vs. Dayananda Dissanayake and others – CA WRIT NO. 109/2011-2011

In the case between A.D. Susil Premajayanth, General Secretary, United People’s Freedom Party (UPFA) (Plaintiff) and Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections, U. Amaradasa, Returning Officer for Kandy District, and others (Defendants), the issue concerned the lawfulness of the rejection of the UPFA’s nomination paper for the Yatinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha election based on an omission in the registered party name. The court held that the statutory requirements for a valid nomination paper had been substantially fulfilled and that the Returning Officer’s powers to reject nominations are strictly limited to grounds enumerated in Sections 28 and 31 of the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance. The decision reaffirmed the principle that only defects expressly specified by statute justify