The Court of Appeal yesterday (21) issued an interim injunction restraining Sundaralingam Kandeepan from functioning as the Mayor and Paramesaran Karthipan from functioning as the Deputy Mayor of the Vavuniya Municipal Council. Sri Lanka Latest News
The order was made after considering a writ petition filed by two members of the Vavuniya Municipal Council — Kandaiya Vijaya Kumar and Sivasubhramaniyam Premadasa.
The bench comprising Justices Rohantha Abeysuriya and Priyantha Fernando, the President of the Court of Appeal, issued the order.
The interim injunction will remain effective until the conclusion of the hearing of the petition.
The court also directed that the petition be taken up again on November 19.
According to the petition filed by Attorney-at-Law Manjula Balasuriya, the Mayor of Vavuniya was elected with 11 votes, while his opponent received 10 votes.
It further states that the person elected as the Deputy Mayor also secured 11 votes, while the opposing candidate received 10 votes.
The petition alleges that the member elected as the Deputy Mayor resides outside the jurisdiction of the Vavuniya Municipal Council.
The petitioners claim that both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor failed to secure a sufficient number of valid votes required to hold their respective positions.
Accordingly, the petition asserts that they lack the legal qualifications to occupy these posts and requests that a writ of certiorari be issued to revoke their appointments.
A panel of lawyers, including President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris, is appearing on behalf of the petitioners, on the advice of Attorney-at-Law Manjula Balasuriya.
