The Supreme Court today (June 2) directed that a Fundamental Rights Petition filed by former Minister A.H.M. Fawzi, concerning the alleged misuse of a luxury vehicle donated by the Netherlands Government during his tenure as Minister of Disaster Management, be taken up for consideration on November 4.
The petition, lodged by Chandra Jayaratne, former President of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce, claims that the use of the donated luxury jeep for personal purposes constituted a violation of the fundamental rights of the public.
The case was heard before a three-judge bench consisting of Justices S. Thurairajah, Menaka Wijesundara, and Sampath Abeykoon. Notably, no legal representation appeared on behalf of Mr. Fawzi when the petition was called, and despite his name being announced in open court, he was absent.
In response, the Court ordered the petitioner to ensure that notice of the petition is served to the former Minister within four weeks.
Along with Mr. Fawzi, eight others—including Sitthi Marina Mohamed, who served as his secretary—are named respondents in the petition.
According to the petition, the luxury vehicle was donated by the Dutch government to the Disaster Management Center in 2010, during Mr. Fawzi’s ministerial tenure. It is alleged that he subsequently used the vehicle for personal purposes and spent approximately one million rupees from ministry funds on its maintenance.
The petition further notes that the Bribery Commission filed charges against Mr. Fawzi in the Colombo High Court related to this misuse. Following his guilty plea, he was sentenced to a suspended prison term of 10 years.
Additionally, the petitioner requests the Supreme Court to rule that Mr. Fawzi, who had sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution as a minister, breached that pledge through these actions, thereby infringing on the fundamental rights of the people of Sri Lanka.
