Wasalatilaka and Others v. The Education Employees Co Operative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd. and Others – sllr 1993 volume 1 page 137

The case between Wasalatilaka and Others (members of the Education Employees Co-operative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd.) and the Education Employees Co-operative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd. and Others (including the Minister of Food and Co-operatives) addressed the legality of the dissolution of a co-operative society committee. The court held that the removal order of the committee, made pursuant to an investigation based on a now-repealed statutory provision following the commencement of Act No. 11 of 1992, lacked a proper legal foundation and procedural validity. It was reaffirmed that after the statutory amendment, authority to remove the committee was vested exclusively in the general body and not in government officers or the Commissioner. The holding relied on the Co-operative S