Petition filed against proposed Penal Code (Amendment) Bill

A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking to declare the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, tabled in the parliament by MP Premnath C. Dolawatte, is in violation of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

The petition was filed by Retired Army Brigadier K. Athula H. de Silva, Shenali D. Waduge and Jehan Hameed, naming MP Dolawatte and the Attorney General as the respondents in the petition.

The petitioners allege that the relevant Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, which was submitted to the parliament as a private members’ bill by MP Dolawatte, has attempted to interpret homosexual activity as a non-criminal offence, while promoting such activities.

The petition also mentions that it is contrary to the expectations of the legislature regarding the penal code and thereby seriously violates the provisions of the constitution.

Furthermore, the petitioners, who have pointed out that even homosexual activities have not been endorsed in accordance with Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Islamic religious beliefs, also mention that the provisions of the bill in question are against those religious beliefs.

In addition, the matters expected in the bill are also contrary to the cultural and national identities of Sri Lanka, they claimed.

Therefore, the petitioning party seeks an order that if the proposed Penal Code (Amendment) Bill is required to be passed, it must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the Parliament and also a referendum, since the provisions contained in the proposed bill violate the fundamental human rights mentioned in the Constitution.