Several clauses of the Sri Lanka Electricity Bill deemed inconsistent with the Constitution by the Supreme Court, will be moved during the committee stage for approval, subject minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced today.
In a post on ‘X’, Minister Wijesekera said the Ministry of Power & Energy accepts all the amendments suggested by the Supreme Court determination on the new Electricity Bill.
He said that most of the amendments were agreed upon during the Supreme Court hearing on the Electricity sector reforms bill three weeks ago.
Accordingly, the amendments as suggested by the Supreme Court will be moved during the committee stage for approval, Wijesekera said.
The minister’s comments come after the Speaker informed the Parliament today of the Supreme Court determination that the Sri Lanka Electricity Bill is inconsistent with the Constitution and can only be passed by a special majority in Parliament.
“The Bill titled ‘Sri Lanka Electricity’ was challenged in the Supreme Court in terms of Article 121/1 of the Constitution. The Bill as a whole is inconsistent with Article 12 (1) of the Constitution and shall only be passed by the Special Majority of Parliament required under Article 84 (2),” the Speaker said, reading the determination of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has also stated that the inconsistency could be resolved if the Bill is amended according to the proposals outlined in its summary of the determination, the Speaker said. (Newswire)
