The General Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Ranith Madduma Bandara has filed a petition before the Supreme Court against the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance.
Bandara filed a petition against Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena, charging him with contempt of court, for failure to comply with the order issued by the Supreme Court preventing him from withholding funds for the 2023 Local Government (LG) election, allocated through the 2023 Budget passed in December last year.
Earlier today (21 March), National Freedom Front (NFF) MP Vijitha Herath had also filed a contempt petition against Siriwardena for failing to comply with the aforementioned order issued by the Supreme Court.
On 03 March, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva and Priyantha Fernando issue an interim order on the Secretary to the Finance Ministry, preventing him from withholding the funds allocated through the 2023 Budget for election purposes.