Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman deemed to have vacated post after losing budget - Supreme Court

Colombo, June 18 (Daily Mirror) - The Supreme Court ruled that a Chairman of a Pradeshiya Sabha who fails to obtain the approval of council members for the annual budget after the first two years is deemed to have vacated his office.

The Supreme Court delivered this judgment while dismissing a fundamental rights petition filed by a former local authority chairman challenging his removal.

The Supreme Court ruled that a Chairman of a Pradeshiya Sabha is deemed to have resigned from the office in terms of the provisions of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act owing to his failure to have the annual budget passed by the members of the Pradeshiya Sabha.

The Supreme Court has dismissed a fundamental rights application filed by former Chairman of the Hingurakgoda Pradeshiya Sabha, Susantha Gnanaratne, challenging a decision in 2014 that deemed him to have resigned from office after failing to secure approval for the local authority’s annual budget.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices Arjuna Obeyesekere, Sampath Abayakoon and Sampath Wijeratne unanimously held that the petitioner was deemed to have vacated the office of Chairman by operation of law after the Pradeshiya Sabha failed to pass its 2014 budget before the statutory deadline.

The petitioner had sought relief against a notification issued by the Commissioner of Local Government of the North Central Province in January 2014 informing the Hingurakgoda Pradeshiya Sabha that he was deemed to have resigned under the provisions of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act.

The petition relates to the amendments introduced to Section 169 of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act by the Local Authorities (Special Provisions) Act No. 21 of 2012. The amendment provides that after the first two years of a council’s term, a chairman who fails to obtain approval for a budget after two opportunities is deemed to have resigned from office.