Sri Lanka Telecom PLC vs I.P. Ediribandu – CA RTI/05/2022-2023

In the case between Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and I.P. Ediribandu, involving intervention by the Right to Information Commission and the Director General, the court addressed whether the RTI Commission could be made a party to an appeal under Section 34(1) of the RTI Act after its decision had been communicated and its jurisdiction exhausted under the functus officio doctrine. It was held that allowing the Commission to intervene post-decision would compromise the impartiality and adversarial nature of the appellate process. The holding reaffirmed that the Commission’s active participation is limited once a decision is rendered, emphasizing statutory limitations and the importance of maintaining procedural neutrality in line with established case law on functus officio and the appellate struct