Two petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a determination that several provisions of the bill presented to Parliament to abolish the pension scheme for Members of Parliament are inconsistent with the Constitution.
One petition has been filed by former MPs M.M. Premasiri, Navarathna Banda, B.M. Deepal Gunasekara and Samansiri Herath. The second petition has been filed by former MPs Piyasoma Upali and Upali Amarasiri.
The petitions, submitted through Attorney-at-Law Sanath Wijewardena, state that certain clauses of the proposed bill violate fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Accordingly, the petitioners have requested the Supreme Court to rule that if the bill is to be enacted, it should be passed with a special majority in Parliament and approved at a referendum. (NewsWire)