It has been reported to the motherland that the Court of Appeal has issued a writ, invalidating a letter issued by the then Minister of Health Pavitra Vanniarachchi on November 27, 2020, removing Professor Harendra De Silva and other members who served as the President of the Sri Lanka Medical Council.
Then the Court of Appeal issued an order annulling the decision taken by the former minister to appoint Prof. Vajira Dissanayake as the new president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council and Prof. Bandula Wijesiriwardena, Dr. Dilrukshi Ruberu, Dr. Vajira Senaratne and Prof. Jayalath Jayawardena as its members. An interim injunction was also issued preventing Mr.
Former Professor Harendra Silva and members Dr. W M. Sunil Ratnapriya, Dr. U.M. Gunasekara, Prof. Narada Varnasuriya, Dr. Sunil Ubhayasiri, the Court of Appeal has issued these orders by giving the decision on two writ petitions.
Mohammad Lafar and S. U. B. This decision was given by the Karaliyadda Court of Appeal.
Announcing the verdict, the Court of Appeal bench noted that the respondent minister had acted maliciously and arbitrarily in removing the members including the former chairman of the Sri Lanka Medical Council.
The judges have alleged in the judgment that the respondent minister has not taken steps to conduct an inquiry with the petitioners or give them an opportunity to present their facts before removing them.
By doing so, the minister has violated the legal principle of natural justice.
The petitioner, the former president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council, Prof. Harendra Silva, and other members told the Court of Appeal that the Minister of Health appointed them as members including the president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council for a period of five years on 21 January 2019.
After that, the decision taken by the former Minister of Health Mrs. Pavithra Vanniarachchi to remove her from her position without any reasonable basis was illegal and the former president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council, Prof. Harendra De Silva, and other members had submitted these petitions.
