A blow to Sri Lankan Govt.

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, JUNE 30. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka today dealt a major blow to the Government by ruling that last month's appointment of the chief media censor was illegal, thereby effectively invalidating the ban order on the weekly newspaper, Sunday Leader.

The ruling by a three-member bench of the court was made against a fundamental rights plea by the Sunday Leader. The court also asked the state to pay SL Rs. 100,000 (approximately $1,250) to the newspaper as compensation in the landmark case.

The Competent Authority, as the chief censor was called, was appointed by the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to implement restrictions on the media as the LTTE's military onslaught in the Jaffna Peninsula peaked in the first week of May.

By ruling that there was no provision under Emergency regulations to appoint him, the Supreme Court has in effect also said that the censorship of the press carried out by the Competent Authority was illegal.

The ruling was based on a point of law and was not critical of censorship itself.

The editor of the Sunday Leader, Mr. Lasantha Wickremetunge, said he was ``overjoyed'' by the ruling. He said the weekly, which is known to be virulently against the Kumaratunga Government, would be back on the stands on the coming Sunday.

``The government's march towards dictatorship has been stopped by the Supreme Court. The court has also shown that this government is so incompetent it cannot even draft a simple legislation, let alone fight a war,'' said Mr. Wickremetunge.

The newspaper was banned from publication on May 22 under Emergency regulations for a period of six months. Earlier this week, the ban period was reduced to two months.

``It is a slap in the face of the Government and a tremendous boost for the freedom of expression,'' said Mr. P. Saravanamuttu of the Centre for Policy Studies, a thinktank that deals with various issues including those related to the media.

Mr. Saravanamuttu said the judgment was further proof that the Government's decisions were ``bad in law'', and had no constitutional basis. ``Every time the Government is taken to court, they lose,'' he said.

A 1998 judgment had found the Government wrong in postponing provincial council elections.

The ruling in this case is expected also to impact on the fate of the Jaffna daily Uthayan, which was closed down by the censor on May 20, two days before the banning of the Sunday Leader, for alleged violated censorship regulations.

``According to this judgment, the letter (ordering the closure) that was issued to me is also null and void,'' said the Colombo- based managing director of Uthayan Publications, Mr. E. Saravanapavan.

The Competent Authority, Mr. Ariya Rubasinghe, was not available for comment on the ruling. But the judgment leaves room for the Government to reframe the regulations to permit the appointment of a Competent Authority.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Govt. asks CBI to give update on match-fixing
           probe
Next     : PCC chief