SLR legal issue drags further as Appeal Court urged to dismiss contempt motion
A legal battle surrounding the administration of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) took a dramatic turn this week as the Court of Appeal was urged to dismiss a contempt motion filed by officials of the Western Province Rugby Football Union. The case originates from alleged violations of a settlement reached in December 2024 concerning the conduct of elections for the governing body of SLR.
At the heart of the dispute is a settlement recorded before the Court of Appeal on December 4, 2024, where the Ministry of Sports and Sri Lanka Rugby agreed to specific steps to ensure free and fair elections. These included holding an Annual General Meeting to elect office bearers, conducting a Special General Meeting by January 28, 2025 to adopt amendments proposed by World Rugby, and forming an Election Committee as per the SLR Constitution and country’s Sports Law.
However, petitioners led by Roshan Damian Deen claim that the agreed process was not followed in good faith and filed a motion on January 28, 2025, accusing the third respondent–Director General (DG) of Sports of contempt of court.
In response, Counsel for the Respondents submitted that the DG had fully complied with the settlement terms. A Special General Meeting had been convened on December 20, 2024, and an Election Committee was duly appointed. Moreover, they argued that an enjoining order issued by the District Court of Colombo on January 16, 2025 prevented the Election Committee from conducting the elections, complicating further action.
The Respondents’ motion alleges that the contempt petition was procedurally flawed and failed to meet the requirements under the Contempt of Court Act, No.8 of 2024. They also accused the Petitioners of misleading the Court by claiming that a contempt rule had already been issued without proper legal basis.
Further, objections were raised asserting that the Petitioners’ application was invalid since the original matter was withdrawn post-settlement. The Court of Appeal, chaired by Acting Chairman Mohamed Lafar and Judge K. Priyantha Fernando, instructed the AG’s Department to present the case on May 15, the next hearing date of the case. Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena, PC appeared for the respondent. M.A. Sumanthiran PC appeared on behalf of the Provincial Rugby Unions while Faizer Mustapha PC appeared on behalf of Waruna de Silva.