Mohamed Shafie Raheem v. Sri Lanka Muslim Congress – CA 126/2011-2011

In the case between Mohamed Shafie Raheem and M.I. Hassan Ali (Sri Lanka Muslim Congress) and Dayananda Dissanayake (Commissioner of Elections) and others, the court addressed whether the Returning Officer’s rejection of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress’s nomination paper for the Attanagalla Pradeshiya Sabha election was lawful due to the omission of the required oath or affirmation by candidate M.D.M. Mackie. It was held that the failure to annex the required documentation justified rejection of the nomination paper under Section 28(4) of the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance. The court reaffirmed that such statutory requirements are mandatory, and the exercise of writ jurisdiction is not appropriate when material facts are disputed or alternative remedies exist. This decision relied on