A writ petition has been filed before the Court of Appeal seeking a ruling to revoke the deal signed to transfer shares of Yugadanavi LNG Power Plant in Keralawalapitiya to a United States-based company.

The petition was put forward by former parliamentarians of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Sunil Handunnetti and Wasantha Samarasinghe.

A total of 43 respondents including the Prime Minister and other Ministers of the Cabinet, the Public Utilities Commission, its chairman and members, Ceylon Electricity Board, the US-based New Fortress Energy, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank have been named in the petition.

The petitioners claimed that the government has not properly explained particulars of the deal even to the Cabinet of Ministers when transferring the shares of the power plant to the American company.

They also alleged that the government had not obtained the approval of the Parliament pertaining to the signing of the agreement in question and that the relevant share transfer process had not been carried out in accordance with a formal tender procedure.

Accordingly, transparency has been challenged in procedure followed by the government when entering the agreement, the petitioners said further.

Accordingly, they sought the Appeals Court to issue an order rescind the decision taken to transfer the shares to the American company and the agreement signed by the government.