Author: Buzzer Editorial

The Supreme Court has issued an interim injunction order preventing the implementation of a Gazette notification issued by the previous government to increase the annual fee for liquor licenses.The three-judge bench, comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe, and Priyantha Fernando, issued this order while granting leave to proceed with the fundamental rights petition filed by the Sri Lanka Liquor Licensees’ Association.The petition, which names the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and several others as respondents, argues that increasing the annual fee to Rs. 20 million, stipulated in the 2024/1 gazette notification, causes severe injustice to license holders and constitutes…

Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake, announced today (6) that the position of Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) will be granted to the opposition. He made this statement in response to a query in Parliament regarding the Parliamentary Affairs Committee or the Party Leaders’ meeting. Minister Rathnayake said, “We have decided to give the position of Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) to the opposition. It is not something you requested. Also, the number of members of the Public Accounts Committee has been increased beyond the standing orders.”The Minister further clarified that the ruling party will…

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has announced that it will submit its proposal for the revision of electricity tariffs to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) today (06). Responding to an inquiry made by Ada Derana, CEB Chairman Dr. Thilak Siyambalapitiya confirmed that the proposal would be submitted as scheduled. Previously, it was proposed under the former government that electricity tariffs be revised four times annually. However, in 2023, tariff revisions were carried out three times, while two revisions were made this year. The current government has limited tariff revisions to twice a year. The proposal submitted today is expected to…

Sri Lanka Customs has expressed confidence in achieving the tax revenue target of Rs. 1.53 trillion for the year before December 31.According to Additional Director General of Customs, Seevali Arukgoda, a total of Rs. 1.38 trillion in tax revenue has already been collected towards this target.

The Election Commission has announced that the deadline for submitting expense reports related to the 2024 Parliamentary Election will end at midnight today (06).The Chairman of the Election Commission, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake, stated that only 1,985 out of 8,361 candidates who contested the election have submitted their reports so far.He further emphasized that legal action will be initiated against the candidates who fail to submit the required reports within the stipulated timeframe.Additionally, the Chairman noted that preparations are underway to hold the local government elections at the earliest possible date.

The Administrative Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Renuka Perera has been released on bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for allegedly posting false information on social media regarding ‘Mahaviru’ (Maaveerar Naal) commemorations in the North.A team of CID officers had visited Renuka Perera’s residence this morning (05) and took him into custody after recording a statement regarding the matter. He was subsequently produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. Accordingly, the Colombo Additional Magistrate, Manjula Ratnayake, has ordered the release of the suspect on two personal bonds of Rs. 01 million…

The government has presented an interim Vote on Account for the initial four months of 2025, allocating close to Rs. 1,402 billion for maintaining state affairs and continuing ongoing projects. The Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation has received the highest allocation, amounting to Rs. 220.06 billion. Other significant allocations include: Rs. 186.02 billion for the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development. Rs. 170.47 billion for the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government. Rs. 161.99 billion for the Ministry of Health and Mass Media. Rs. 142.95 billion for the Ministry of Defense. Rs. 92 billion for the Ministry of Education, Higher…

The Sri Lanka Army says that a group of 10 students from a leading school in Colombo, who were stranded while trekking in the Hanthana mountain range, have been rescued by army troops.The students, aged between 16 and 17, had been trekking in the Hanthana mountain range and had later ventured into an unsafe area.Sri Lanka Army stated that due to one student suffering a sprained leg and the heavy fog, the group became stranded and were unable to find their way back.After being notified, a joint rescue operation was launched by the 111 Brigade headquarters and the troops of…

Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte and his wife Shashi Prabha Ratwatte have been granted bail today (05) by the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court.Accordingly, the court set a cash bail of Rs. 25,000 for each individual, along with two personal bonds of Rs. 1 million each.Additionally, the police confirmed that the court has issued an overseas travel ban on Lohan Ratwatte.Lohan Ratwatte and his wife were arrested over the charges of using a luxury car illegally imported and assembled in Sri Lanka, while they had previously been remanded in custody until December 06 by the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court.Police had found the luxury…

The Colombo District Court today (05) ordered that the petition seeking an injunction to suspend the activities of the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, Maxwell De Silva, be recalled on December 18.The petition was filed by the former Secretary of the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka, Nalin Adhikariarchchige, and the President of the Handball Federation of Sri Lanka (HFSL), Upali Rajapaksa.When the case was taken up today, legal representatives for some of the respondents requested additional time to submit objections.Granting their request, the court ordered the case to be taken up again on December 18…