FR filed over Selendiva Investments Limited

On Jun 30, 2021

An engineer yesterday filed a Fundamental Rights petition at the Supreme Court, seeking an Interim Order prohibiting the Treasury Secretary from selling, leasing, or alienating State properties vested in Selendiva Investments Limited Company or any of its subsidiaries.

This petition had been filed by Secretary of the Professionals National Front of Sri Lanka (PNF) Kapila Renuka Perera.

According to the petitioner, Selendiva Investments Ltd was formed in accordance with a Cabinet approval granted on or around March 24, 2020, with 100 percent ownership vested in the Secretary to the Treasury, with the goal of transforming the State-Owned Hospitality Portfolios to optimum performance levels through appropriate restructuring.

Filing this petition through Attorney Dharshana Weraduwage, the Petitioner states that, on or around May 18, 2021, he has seen a press briefing of Cabinet decisions which included information relating to several approved proposals including; State-owned Canwill Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC and Hotels Colombo Ltd have been already vested in Selendiva Investments Ltd at present.

Petitioner Perera also feared that it would cause irreparable harm to the country’s cultural heritage, as some of the properties to be vested with Selendiva Investments Ltd are said to be historic and architecturally valuable buildings that are listed to be preserved in the City of Colombo Development Plan 1999.

If the cabinet decision is executed, the petitioner and the citizens of this country will lose access to important historical, archaeological, and architecturally valuable sites located in the aforementioned territories, the petitioner said.

The petitioner has named Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,Treasury Secretary S.R.Attygalle, the Director General of Department of Public Enterprises P.A.S. Athula Kumara, Selendiva Investments Limited, Auditor General W.P.C.Wickremaratne, Security and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, Colombo Stock Exchange, the Registrar General of Companies, Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC, Hotels Colombo (1963) Ltd, Bank of Ceylon, Canwill Holdings (Private) Limited, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd, The Monetary Board (CBSL), Litro Gas Lanka Ltd, Urban Development Authority, Secretary to the Cabinet, Selendiva Leisure Investments Limited and Attorney General as respondents.