The Supreme Court has dismissed, without taking up for hearing, a fundamental rights petition filed by Venerable Thiniyawala Palitha Thero against a group including former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Ajith Nivard Cabraal.

Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thero had filed the petition alleging that the former Central Bank Governor and several others had violated fundamental rights by authorizing a payment of Rs. 6.5 million from funds of the Sri Lankan government to Imaad Zuberi, a Pakistani-American political donor. 

The petitioner claimed that the payment, made during the previous regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa, was intended to enhance the image of Sri Lanka. 

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, and Justices Mahinda Samayawardena and Sampath Wijeratne, delivered the ruling after considering the fundamental facts of the case, Ada Derana reporter said.

Attorney-at-Law Suren Gnanaraj, representing the former Central Bank Governor, presented facts before the court, and stated that the petitioner had previously filed personal complaints regarding the matter with the Colombo and Fort Magistrates’ Courts, both of which were rejected.

He also noted that a revision petition filed by the petitioner had been dismissed by the courts.

President’s Counsel Farman Cassim, representing Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha Thero, argued that the actions of the former Central Bank Governor were unlawful and constituted a violation of fundamental rights.

After reviewing the submissions from both factions, the three-judge bench concluded that the petition did not present sufficient grounds for a lawsuit and dismissed the case.