Deepak Kumar Krishnakumar Vasanji v. Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance, and 05 others – CA APPLICATION NO: 78/2016-2016

In the case between Deepak Kumar Krishnakumar Vasanji, Lal & Sons, and Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance, and others, the court addressed the issue of whether a State Minister of Finance, not holding cabinet rank, could validly sign and issue Gazette ‘X2’ as Acting Minister of Finance, and whether such an appointment under Article 49 of the Constitution was constitutionally valid. The holding determined that Article 49 requires only that the Acting Minister be a Member of Parliament for a valid acting appointment and does not limit the appointment exclusively to Cabinet Ministers. As a result, the court dismissed the writ application, reaffirming the principle that constitutional requirements for acting appointments are defined by Article 49 rather than Article 44. This decision