• Petitioners claim Dolawatte’s Bill violates religious beliefs, cultural and national identities

A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to declare that the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill tabled in the Parliament by Government Parliamentarian and Attorney Premnath C. Dolawatte with a view to amend the legal provisions that make sexual orientation a punishable offence, is in violation of the Constitution.

The petition was filed by retired Army Brigadier K. Athula H. de Silva, Shenali D. Waduge and Jehan Hameed, naming Dolawatte and the Attorney General as the respondents in the petition.

The petitioners allege that the relevant Bill, which was submitted to the Parliament as a private Member Bill by Dolawatte, has attempted to interpret homosexual activity as a non-criminal offence, while promoting such activities.

The petition also mentions that it is contrary to the expectations of the Legislature regarding the Penal Code and thereby seriously violates the provisions of the Constitution.

Furthermore, the petitioners, who have pointed out that homosexual activities have not been endorsed in accordance with Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Islamic religious beliefs, also mention that the provisions of the Bill in question are against those religious beliefs. In addition, the matters expected in the Bill are also contrary to the cultural and national identities of Sri Lanka, they claim.

Therefore, the petitioning parties should seek an order that if the proposed Penal Code (Amendment) Bill is required to be passed, it must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the Parliament and also a referendum, since the provisions contained in the proposed Bill violate the fundamental human rights mentioned in the Constitution.