IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA In the matter of an application under Articles 17 & 126 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thero Nalandaramaya, Nalandarama Road, Nugegoda. Petitioner -Vs- SC FR Application Number: SC/Ref/464/2016 1. Hon. Sunil Handunnetti Chairman of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 2. Hon. Rauf Hakeem Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 3. Hon. Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 4. Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 5. Hon. Lakshman Seneviratne Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 6. Hon. Ravindra Samaraweera Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 7. Hon. Sujeewa Senasinghe Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 8. Hon. Wasantha Aluvihare Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 1 9. Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanne Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 10. Hon. Dr. Harsha De Silva Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 11. Hon. Ajith P. Perera Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 12. Hon. Ranjan Ramanayake Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 13. Hon. Ashok Abeysinghe Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 14. Hon. Anura Dissanayake Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 15. Hon. Chandrasiri Gajadheera Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 16. Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 17. Hon. Bimal Rathnayake Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 18. Hon. Weerakumara Dissanayake Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 19. Hon. Mewai S. Senadhiraja Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 2 20. Hon. Abdullah Mahruf Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 21. Hon. S. Sritharan Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 22. Hon. M.A Sumanthiran Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 23. Hon. Hector Appuhamy Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 24. Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayathissa Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 25. Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) 26. Hon. Gnanamuttu Srinesan Member of Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) In their capacity as members of COPE, the st th 1 to 26 Respondents are all based at; Secretary - COPE COPE Secretariat Parliament, Sri Jaywardenepura, Kotte. 27. Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka No. 30 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 01. 28. Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka No. 30 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 01. 29. P Samarasiri in his capacity as Chairman of the Treasury Bond Tender Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka No. 30 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 01. 30. Superintendent and Registrar of Public Debt Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka No. 30 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 01. 3 31. The Auditor General of Sri Lanka Auditor General’s Department 306/72, Polduwa Road Battaramulla. 32. Hon. Attorney General Attorney General’s Department Hulftsdorp, Colombo 12. Respondents On this the 23rd day of December 2016, TO: HIS LORDSHIPS THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE OTHER HONOURABLE JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA; The Petition of the Petitioner above named appearing by James Henry Paul Ratnayeke and Nilanthi Sonia Anne Pieris Attorneys-at-Law of the Honourable Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, carrying on business in Partnership under the name, style and firm of PAUL RATNAYEKE ASSOCIATES and their assistants Mahesha Alahakoon, Therese Melanie De Alwis, Liyana Gayathri Narmada Mendis, Tharini Prakarshi Dias Senerath Gunasekera, Hashini Madushika Epa, Apsara Witharanage, Achini Shanika Kaluarachchi, Warnakulasuriya Ishara Swini Peiris, Mayadunnage Dona Bimali Jithma Bandara Mayadunna and Hettige Don Udara Oshadi Gunasekara his Registered Attorneys-at-Law state as follows:- 1. The Petitioner is a citizen of Sri Lanka and is filing this application on the basis that for the reasons more- fully set out below; a. The Petitioner’s fundamental rights under Article 12(1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka have been violated, and/or; b. That the fundamental rights guaranteed to the general public of Sri Lanka under Article 12(1) of the Constitution have been violated. 2. The Petitioner pleads that he is filing this application in the public interest, and in the performance of his Constitutional duties under inter alia Articles 28(a) and/or 28(d) and/or 28(f) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. 3. The Petitioner pleads that the scope of this application concerns inter alia various purported findings and/or statements made in a report prepared by the Committee on Public Enterprises [“COPE”] as regards certain bond issues by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in the year of 2015 and 2016. 4. The Petitioner states the following as regards himself; a. The Petitioner has been attached to the Nalandaramaya temple since 1966; b. He is also the Vice Secretary of the Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Society; c. He is also the Regional Head of Mahabodhi Society Chennai India, 4 d. He is also the Viharadhipathi of Beruwala Sapugoda Temple; e. He is also the Nalandaramapathi of Nalandaramaya, Nugegoda; f. He is also a Director of Lanka Hospitals. 5. The 1st to 26th Respondents are members of COPE that have been tasked by Parliament of Sri Lanka to investigate and report on matters pertaining to certain Treasury bond auctions by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka [“CBSL” or “Central Bank”] in February 2015 and March 2016. For this purpose, the 1st Respondent has been nominated / appointed as the Chairman of COPE, whilst the 2nd – 25th Respondents have been nominated / appointed as members of COPE. 6. The 27th Respondent is the Monetary Board of the Central Bank. The 2nd Respondent is a body corporate and has the legal capacity to sue and be sued in its corporate name. The 2nd Respondent is the governing body of the Central Bank, and is responsible for inter alia the management and administration of the CBSL. 7. The 28th 29th and 30th Respondents are the Governor of the CBSL, Chairman of the Tender Committee of the CBSL and Superintendent of the Public Debt Department of the CBSL. 8. The 31st Respondent is the Auditor General of Sri Lanka that has submitted a report dated 29 June 2016 to the members of COPE. 9. The 32nd Respondent is the Hon. Attorney General and is made a party to this application in terms of law and established procedure. 10. At the outset the Petitioner respectfully reserves his right and/or seeks the permission of Your Lordships Court to; a. add further Respondents / parties to this application in the event the necessity arises, and/or; b. tender any document that has not already been tendered with this application, but which is available and/or accessible to the Petitioner, and which Your Lordships Court deem relevant and requisite for the purpose of effectively adjudicating this application. 11. The Petitioner respectfully pleads the following; a. Consequent to being elected in September 2015, Parliament of Sri Lanka nominated/appointed the members of COPE to conduct an investigation into certain Central Bank auctions of Treasury Bonds which occurred in February 2015 and March 2016 b. As at the date of presentation of their final report, the members of COPE were the 1st to 26th Respondents; c. The members of COPE have submitted their final report to Parliament on or about 28 October 2016 [“COPE report”]; d. With the said COPE report 25 annexures have also been submitted; e. The said COPE report maintains that; i. the 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 9th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 21st 22nd 24th and 26th Respondents agreed to the said COPE report in general without the footnotes; ii. the 6th 7th 8th 10th 11th 13th 20th 23rd and 25th Respondents agreed to the said COPE report with the footnotes; 5 iii. all members of the Committee (i.e. the 1st to 26th Respondents) unanimously agreed to the recommendations given at the end of the report. The Petitioner marks and annexes hereto as ‘P1(a)’ ‘P1(b)’ and ‘P1(c)’ respectively, the copies of the Sinhala, Tamil and English language versions of the said COPE report and pleads the same as part and parcel hereof. The Petitioner marks and annexes hereto as ‘P2(a) to P2(y)’ respectively the copies of the said 25 annexures to the said COPE report and pleads the same as part and parcel hereof. By way of example the Petitioner states that annexure 1 to the COPE report has been marked hereto as P2(a), whilst annexure 2 has been marked as P2(b) and so forth. 12. The Petitioner expressly pleads that notwithstanding that the said COPE report was presented to Parliament on or about 28 October 2016, the same remained inaccessible to the general public and the Petitioner for some time. The Petitioner pleads that the said COPE report only became accessible to the Petitioner (and the Petitioner verily believes, to the majority of the general public) on or about 24 November 2016. 13. In the circumstances afore-said, the Petitioner pleads that the Petitioner could not file this application sooner as the COPE report was inaccessible to him, and he was not aware of the contents of the same, until 24 November 2016. 14. The Petitioner pleads further that in any event the continuous reliance and/or circulation and/or actions of the said COPE report as it presently stands amounts to a continuing infringement of the Petitioner’s fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 12(1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, and also amounts to a cause which enables the Petitioner to prefer this application in the public interest.