F.S. Traders (Private) Limited v. Hon. Ravi Karunanayake and Others – CA APPLICATION NO: 77/2016-2016

In the case between F.S. Traders (Private) Limited and Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance, and others, the court addressed the issue of whether the appointment of a State Minister of Finance, not of cabinet rank, as Acting Minister of Finance, and his subsequent signing of a gazette notification, was valid under the Constitution. It was held that a Member of Parliament can be appointed as Acting Minister under Article 49 when the substantive minister is unavailable, and that the gazette notification signed by the duly appointed Acting Minister was valid. The principle established was that Article 49 of the Constitution governs such appointments, requiring merely that the appointee be a Member of Parliament, and no further cabinet rank is mandated. This decision emphasized the suff