Handunkutti Pedige Chandana Kumara vs. Tikiri Kobbekaduwa et al. – CA WRIT/52/2022-2022

In the case between Handunkutti Pedige Chandana Kumara, Chairman, Mawanella Pradeshiya Sabha (Petitioner), and Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, Governor, Sabaragamuwa Province, along with provincial officers and members of the Mawanella Pradeshiya Sabha (Respondents), the issue centered on whether the Chairman was lawfully deemed to have resigned his post under Sections 168 and 169 of the Pradeshiya Sabhas Act No. 15 of 1987 for failing to have the annual budget passed by Council vote. The court determined that the statutory scheme required a formal majority vote to approve the annual budget after the initial two years of the Council’s term and that failure to secure such approval resulted in automatic resignation by operation of law. The Governor’s issuance of Gazette Notifications—declaring the occas