A Fundamental Rights Petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against former Finance Minister and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, along with several others, seeking an order to revoke liquor sales licenses that were allegedly issued illegally and without transparency. The petition challenges the issuance of these licenses from the date the Presidential Election was announced last year until the election was held.
The petitioners, Thangavelu Dharmendra Raja, a resident of Matale, and Prasad Dinuka Priyadarshana, a resident of Buthpitiya, are both liquor sales license holders who claim that the licensing process was conducted in violation of legal and ethical standards.
The petition names several respondents, including former Excise Commissioner General M.J. Gunasiri, former Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, members of the Bribery Commission, members of the Election Commission, Ministers Wasantha Samarasinghe and Bimal Ratnayake, as well as officials from the Excise Department.
According to the petition, the issuance of liquor sales licenses between the announcement of the presidential election on July 26 last year and the election date on September 21 was carried out in a non-transparent and unlawful manner. The petitioners allege that these licenses were granted to supporters of the Democratic National Front and MPs aligned with it. Furthermore, they claim that Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Finance Minister, facilitated the distribution of these licenses to gain financial and political support from business figures during the election campaign.
