LERINS PEIRIS v. NEIL RUPASINGHE, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND OTHERS – sllr 2000 volume 1 page 040

In the case between Lerins Peiris and Neil Rupasinghe (Member of Parliament) and other officials, the court addressed the issue of whether the petitioner’s fundamental rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and association under Article 14(1)(a), (b), and (c) of the Constitution were violated when the petitioner was expelled, through coercive means, from a workshop concerning the Muturajawela/Negombo Lagoon area. The court held that the respondents’ actions, performed in their official capacities, constituted executive action for which the State is accountable, and that these actions violated the petitioner’s fundamental rights. The decision reaffirmed the constitutional protection of speech, assembly, and association against interference by state actors, relying on established co