Dilan Perera v. Rajitha Senaratne (Yapa, J.)
CA
87
Dental Supplies (1st respondent’s partnership) and some
contracts in the name of Senaratne Dental Supplies (Pvt) Ltd.
( l sl respondent’s Private Company). Perhaps it may be due to
this reason that at the hearing of this application, the learned
Senior Counsel for the 1sl respondent did not seriously contest
the submission of learned Counsel for the petitioner, that the
1st respondent held various contracts with the Government
Departments and Institutions and has been doing business
with them.
The main point that was veiy strenuously argued by
Mr. Choksy, learned Senior Counsel for the 1st respondent was
the absence of any law prohibiting a Member of Parliament
from entering into contracts w ith any G overnm ent
Institutions, and therefore there was no possibility of taking
any action against the 1st respondent in respect of the alleged
contracts. Before considering this argument of Mr. Choksy, it
is necessary to keep in mind the following salient features.
That Article 91(1) (e) of the 1978 Constitution prohibits a
person from being elected as a Member of Parliament or sitting
and voting in Parliament, if he has entered into any prohibited
types of contracts. This is veiy clearly provided for in the 1978
Constitution. The position was the same under the 1972
Constitution in view of Section 70(1)(d). In the 1978
Constitution Article 91 (1 )(e) provides as follows:91(1) No person shall be qualified to be elected as a
Member of Parliament or sit and vote in Parliament:
(e)
if he has any such interest in any such con tract made
by or on behalf of the State or a public corporation as
Parliament shall by law prescribe:
Therefore it is to be observed that unlike in the case of the
Donoughmore Constitution and the Soulbury Constitution
where there were self contained disqualifications in regard to
con tracts with the State Or State Institutions, 1972 and 1978
Constitutions required the legislature to specify by law
enacted by the National State Assembly or by Parliament, to