The Supreme Court has rejected two contempt of court petitions filed against Finance Ministry’s Secretary, Mahinda Siriwardana, by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and National People’s Power (NPP) MP Vijitha Herath.

A five-member judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, deliberated on the matter during a hearing on Tuesday (Nov.14). The petitions alleged that Secretary Siriwardana failed to comply with an interim order issued by a 3-member Supreme Court judge bench on March 03. The interim order restrained the Finance Ministry’s Secretary from withholding the 2023 budgetary allocations for the Local Government (LG) election.

Both petitioners contended that Siriwardana's actions violated the interim order, and sought legal recourse through their petitions. However, the Finance Ministry’s Secretary and the Attorney General argued that matters related to public finance are beyond the judiciary's jurisdiction and fall within the purview of the parliament.

In response to the preliminary objections raised, the Supreme Court decided to dismiss the contempt of court petitions against Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, asserting the jurisdictional limitations in matters concerning public finance.