Attorney-at-Law Thishya Weragoda has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka pertaining to the new Government regulations that require clearance from the Defence Ministry for marriages involving foreign nationals in Sri Lanka.
The complaint comes after a Sunday newspaper reported that there was a move by the Registrar General’s Department to impose certain preconditions to have a marriage of a foreigner registered in Sri Lanka to ensure national security.
Speaking to NewsWire, Weragoda said “My children are foreign passport holders as well. One day when they want to get married, I don’t want them to be asking for permission from the Defence Secretary. They don’t need my permission to get married to anyone they want. Why should they get permission from some other person – a bureaucrat to get married to a person of their choice?”.
Stating that the new preconditions are illegal, unlawful, irrational, illogical, absurd, ultra vires, and unconstitutional, he called on the Human Rights Commission to investigate this as a matter of priority.
Thishya Weragoda further called on the Human Rights Commission to direct the Registrar General not to implement the purported circular with effect from 1st January 2022. (NewsWire)
