Ranil Wickremasinghe vs. Upali Abeyrathne et al. – CA WRIT/364/2021-2022

In the case between Ranil Wickremasinghe (Petitioner) and Upali Abeyrathne, Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilaka, Chandra Fernando, Mrs. Pearl K. Weerasinghe, and P. B. Jayasundera (Respondents), the court addressed whether adverse findings and recommendations against the petitioner, issued by a Commission of Inquiry, were ultra vires, arbitrary, and in violation of natural justice. It was determined that the petitioner, called only as a witness and not as a respondent, had not been given the benefit of due process before adverse findings were made. The issue concerned whether interim relief should be granted to suspend these findings. Reliance was placed on established principles for the grant of interim relief (primarily from Felix Dias Bandaranayake v. State Film Corporation and Subramaniam v.