Civil Appellate HC dismisses SJB’s appeal, orders to pay court expenses

The Western Provincial Civil Appellate High Court today (21) dismissed an appeal filed by former Minister and General Secretary of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Ranjith Madduma Bandara, without taking it up for hearing.

The appeal challenged the verdict of the Colombo District Court which rejected SJB members’ request seeking an order to prevent the UNP Working Committee from suspending their UNP membership.

Ranjith Madduma Bandara and several others were ousted from the UNP as per a decision taken by its Working Committee, for defecting the party and submitting nominations from the SJB to contest the upcoming General Election.

The verdict was delivered by Western Provincial Civil Appellate High Court judge bench Sampath Abeykoon and Mohamed Laffar, who ordered Ranjith Madduma Bandara to pay Rs. 25,000 as court expenses.

The SJB General Secretary, in his appeal, stressed that the SJB was formed following a decision reached by the Working Committee of the UNP in January this year.

Accordingly, when the new alliance was established neither him nor other SJB members had violated the UNP’s constitution, he had stated adding that the decision to suspend their membership is unlawful. They had ‘subsequently filed a case with the Colombo District Court citing the matter.

Taking up the case, the Colombo District Court had dismissed the SJB members’ request seeking an enjoining order preventing the Working Committee from executing its decision.

In his appeal filed before the Civil Appellate High Court, Ranjith Madduma Bandara challenged the Colombo District Court’s verdict, stressing that it is against the law.

He also sought the Civil Appellate High Court to hear his appeal and to issue an enjoining order against the UNP Working Committee’s decision.

However, when the appeal was taken up recently, the attorneys representing UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe noted that the Ranjith Madduma Bandara’s claims that the UNP Working Committee had granted permission to form a new party named SJB are completely erroneous.

As these members had submitted nominations for the parliamentary election from the SJB, they are not allowed to hold the membership of the UNP legally, they have pointed out.

The attorneys also sought the court to reject the request calling for an enjoining order against the UNP Working Committee’s decision to suspend the membership of those who defected the party for the SJB.

Taking the submissions presented, the Civil Appellate High Court decided to dismiss the appeal filed by the SJB General Secretary.