The Supreme Court has ruled that the emergency regulations declared nationwide under the Public Security Act by then-Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on July 17, 2022, to control public protests, were in violation of fundamental human rights.
A majority decision by the three-member bench found that the emergency regulations issued under Section 02 of the Public Security Act were arbitrary and legally void.
Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya and Justice Yasantha Kodagoda delivered the majority opinion, concluding that the actions taken under the emergency declaration were unconstitutional.
However, Justice Arjuna Obeysekera dissented, stating in his separate judgment that the emergency declaration by the Acting President did not amount to a violation of fundamental rights.
The petitions challenging the emergency declaration were filed by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ambika Sathkunanathan—a former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka—and the Liberal Youth Movement.
The Supreme Court also ordered the government to pay the legal costs incurred by the petitioners.
