Lawsuit Against the Secretary to the President for Breach of Statutory Duty by Failing to Act on the Election Commission's Letter

Lawsuit Against the Secretary to the President for Breach of Statutory Duty by Failing to Act on the Election Commission's Letter (This case is significant for lawyers, law students, and citizens regarding the filing of private criminal complaints/ plaint in the Magistrate’s Court under Section 136(1)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, the interpretation of Sections 19, 162, and 289 of the Penal Code) Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna has filed a written complaint under Section 136(1)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979 in the Fort Magistrate's Court against the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake. The complaint alleges that the Secretary committed a punishable offense within the court's jurisdiction by willfully neglecting, failing to perform, and/or breaching his statutory duty under Article 9 of the Constitution and Section 289 of the Penal Code, by failing to take the necessary steps to accurately translate Article 83(ආ) of the Constitution into the English language in accordance with a letter dated August 11, 2025, issued by the Chairman of the Election Commission. According to a request made by Attorney-at-Law Mr. Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna to the Election Commission to correctly translate paragraph (ආ) of Article 83 of the Constitution into English, the Chairman of the Election Commission, Mr. R.M.A.L. Rathnayake, has informed the President's Secretary by forwarding a letter to brief the President and requesting to make the necessary arrangements for the relevant correction, which was notified in writing to the said Attorney-at-Law by the Chairman of the Election Commission, Mr. R.M.A.L. Rathnayake, on 11.08.2025. Accordingly, the complaint states that the Secretary to the President holds a statutory duty to rectify the error in paragraph 83(b) of the English version of the Constitution so that it aligns correctly with the Sinhala text. The plaint emphasizes that under Articles 9, 49, and 51 of the 1972 Constitution, as well as the Preamble and Article 171 of the 1978 Constitution, the Sinhala version of the Constitution remains the authoritative text. The complainant further states that he had previously raised this matter before the Supreme Court by filing petitions SC/SD/37/2026 and SC/SD/66/2026 against the "22nd Amendment to the Constitution" bill and the "Judicature (Amendment)" Bill (amending the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978). In those proceedings, he submitted a copy of the letter dated August 11, 2025, which notice to him by the Chairman of the Election Commission which chairman informed to the Secretary to the President. The complaint notes that the Supreme Court did not reject these submissions in its determination. However, because the Secretary to the President has failed to correct the error in Article 83(b) of the English version to date, the Honorable Judges reached their determination by relying on the flawed English text of Article 83(b). The lawyer has reported these facts to the Fort Magistrate's Court, asserting that by failing to act on the Election Commission Chairman’s letter dated August 11, 2025, and failing to perform his statutory duty to correctly translate Article 83(ආ), the Secretary to the President has committed a punishable offense under Article 9 of the Constitution and Section 289 of the Penal Code for willfully neglecting, failing to perform, or breaching a duty imposed upon him by an enactment or statute. Dr. Thilaka Padma Subasinghe Memorial Legal Education Program Translation of the article මැකො ලිපියට අනුව ක්‍රියා නොකර ව්‍යවස්ථාපිත යුතුකම කඩකිරීම සම්බන්ධෙයන් ජනාධිපති ලේකම්ට නඩු... https://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2026/09/blog-post_26.html