Ranaweerage Sarath Nandalal & Others vs Public Enterprise Reform Commission & Others – SC/FR/ APPLICATION NO 117/2007-2024

In the case between Ranaweerage Sarath Nandalal, Ariyachakra Bandaranayake Thewanga Mudiyanselage Ariyawanse Bandaranayake (‘Sampath’), and others (as Petitioners) and respondents including the Public Enterprise Reform Commission, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd (SLICL), Milford Holdings Pvt Ltd, and Greenwood Pacific EM Holdings Ltd, the court addressed the legality of the divestiture of 90% government-owned shares in SLICL to private sector companies. The core issue examined was whether the sale infringed upon the fundamental right to equality enshrined in Article 12(1) of the Constitution, following allegations of wrongful and unlawful administrative conduct during the privatization process. It was determined that the transfer of shares was void ab initio, having been carried out in