- Questions Government’s action on economic crisis
The Lawyers’ Collective, a prominent legal advocacy group in Sri Lanka, is preparing to write to the Attorney General (AG) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor regarding the ongoing economic crisis and outline steps to recover the incurred losses.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Upul Jayasuriya, PC, a member of the group, emphasised that the court had clearly identified the reasons for the economic crash, naming officials who had supported detrimental decisions leading to the economic havoc in Sri Lanka.
“The officials include the Monetary Board members who objected to the position taken up by Sanjeewa Jayawardena and Ravi Jayamaha as they were made the minority there and the other people like Attygalle, Cabraal, and Kumarasinghe. What steps are they going to take?” he questioned.
Referring to the Supreme Court ruling delivered in November last year, Jayasuriya said: “The court has already held that the acts are violative of the rights of the people, resulting in significant losses, so they have to initiate action to recover the losses. What steps have they taken? We will be writing a letter to the AG to inquire whether they are being charged under the Public Property Act.”
Jayasuriya stressed that the Supreme Court had clearly stated that by their actions or inactions, there had been a loss of Rs. 493 billion to the coffers.
“When they took the decision, it was a Cabinet decision implemented through notices, whereas the recovery of taxes was by law, so they didn’t implement the law there and then recover the taxes. Instead, without the law, they just didn’t recover the taxes by executive decision. Then they brought a law. The law was brought in 18 months later, as identified by the Supreme Court. So, until 18 months, the first year itself, the Government has incurred a loss of Rs. 493 billion,” he added.
In November, the Supreme Court faulted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, former Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle, former Central Bank Governors W.D. Lakshman and Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and the Monetary Board for Sri Lanka’s latest economic crisis.
In a four-to-one decision, the Supreme Court gave the ruling after considering two Fundamental Rights petitions. Justice Priyantha Jayawardana dissented.
The petitioners told the court that the respondent individuals, as well as the Monetary Board, had engaged in wrongful, irrational, and illegal acts regarding decisions on the value of the rupee and the operation of the Central Bank.
Jayasuriya further explained that the public property law covered losses committed to the Government’s property, including cash. “They are liable to be charged under the public property law, and if convicted, they are mandated to serve jail time,” he added.