Maththaka Gamage Pawaresena Group Leader vs. Commissioner of Elections – CA 75/2011-2011

In the case between Maththaka Gamage Pawaresena and other group members (Petitioners) and Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections, A.B.I. de Silva, Returning Officer, Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha, Hon. Attorney General, and others (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether nomination papers for the Local Authorities election could be lawfully rejected for not including certified copies of birth certificates certified by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, as mandated by statute, instead of photocopies certified by a Justice of the Peace. It was held that the statutory requirement is mandatory and not satisfied by photocopies certified by a Justice of the Peace; therefore, the returning officer’s rejection was lawful. The principle reaffirmed is that strict compliance wit