The Fundamental Rights (FR) petition filed before the Supreme Court by Ministers Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara seeking the nullification of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) decision to suspend their party membership, has been fixed for hearing.

Accordingly, the FR petition, which requests the court to issue an order nullifying the SJB’s decision to expel them from the political party and disqualify them of their parliamentary seats, will be taken up for hearing on 12 October.

The relevant order was issued when the petition was considered before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court today (10 Oct.).

Meanwhile, the attorneys who appeared on behalf of the respondents informed the court that the hearing of the relevant petition must be completed within two months from the date it was filed, as per the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

Considering the facts presented, the court ordered the petitioning party to file their counter objections, if any, within today itself.

Ministers Fernando and Nanayakkara filed the relevant petition on 15 August, with SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara  among those named as the respondents.

On 18 July, the SJB Working Committee decided to expel Fernando and Nanayakkara from the party.

In May 2022, the SJB had suspended the party membership of the two parliamentarians after they had accepted ministerial portfolios in the government while the party had vowed to take disciplinary action against them.

MPs Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara were sworn in as the Minister of Tourism & Lands and Minister of Labour & Foreign Employment, respectively.

Fernando and Nanayakkara had said they accepted ministerial portfolios in the government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to do their utmost to find solutions to the ongoing economic crisis as a positive response was not received from many political party leaders for a collective effort.

They both subsequently resigned from their ministerial portfolios on July 9, 2022 along with the rest of the Cabinet, after then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa informed the Speaker of Parliament that he intends to resign.

However, they were both reappointed to the same ministerial portfolios by President Ranil Wickremesinghe when he appointed a new Cabinet on July 22, 2022.