CA
Dilan Perera v. Rajitha Senamtne (Yapa, J.)
99
“ 13(3) A person shall be disqualified for being elected
or appointed as a Senator or a member of this House of
Representative or for sitting or voting in the Senate or in the
House of Representatives(c)
if he, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any person
on his behalf or for his use or benefit, holds, or enjoys any right
or benefit under any contract made by or on behalf of the
Crown in respect of the Government of the Island for the
furnishing or providing of money to be remitted abroad or of
goods or services to be used or employed in the service of the
Crown in the Island;"
From an examination of the provisions of Section 13(3)(c)
of the Soulbury Constitution it is seen that a member could be
held disqualified at the point of election (by an election
petition) and thereafter (by quo warranto) from sitting and
voting, if he has entered into a prohibited contract after his
election. Therefore Section 13(3)(c) would apply to both
situations, namely, at the point of election and thereafter at the
time of sitting and voting in Parliament. Under the Donoughmore
Constitution of 1931 the question of disqualification for
membership on account of the existence of any contract with
the Crown was dealt with in Article 9(d) of the Ceylon (State
Council Elections) Order in Council 1931. In the case of
Dahanayake us. Peiris(supra) where the petitioner challenged
the election of the respondent under Article 9(d) of the Ceylon
(State Council Elections) Order in Council, 1931, on
the ground that the respondent held contracts with the
Government o f Ceylon and the Court held that the
respondent’s election was void on that ground. Also vide
Somasundaram vs. Kotalawala151, Cooray us. De Zoysa161.
Under Section 13(3)(c) of the Soulbury Constitution, vide the
case of Kulasingham vs. Thambiayari(7> and Thambiayah us.
Kulasingham181. In the present case there is no doubt that the
contracts entered into by the 1st respondent with Government
Departments and Institutions are contracts entered into by
the said Institutions as agents of the State. Therefore we hold