SC to take up Perpetual Treasuries petition against CB today

Tuesday, 20 June 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By S.S. Selvanayagam

The fundamental rights petition filed by the Perpetual Treasuries Group of Companies against the Central Bank is to be taken up today in the Supreme Court.

Petitioners Perpetual Treasuries Ltd, Perpetual Asset Management Ltd, Perpetual Capital Holdings Ltd, Perpetual Capital Ltd, Geoffrey Joseph Aloysius and Arjun Joseph Aloysius filed their petition through Attorney G.G. Arulpragasam.

They cited Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, members of the Monetary Board, the Deputy Governors of the Central Bank, the Director of the Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions Udeni Prasanga Alawattage, the Examiner in Charge of the Public Debt Department W.N.S. Fernando and the Attorney General as respondents.

Perpetual Treasuries in their petition contests the extension of the purported directions dated 7 November 2016 which were subsequently and purportedly amended on 3 February 2017 to limit their participation in Central Bank auctions as a primary dealer.

They lament that it is being done in the guise of a further amendment dated 30 March 2017 which they allege amounts to a continuous and recurring infringement of their fundamental rights.

Perpetual Treasuries states that the Director of the Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions forwarded a letter dated 7 November 2016 with various directions issued by the Monetary Board that they were required to comply with.

Perpetual in its petition states the directions amount to unprecedented regulatory control over a primary dealer and are wholly disproportionate to the alleged violations or regulatory concerns.

They are petitioning Court to rule that the extension of the operation of the directions by the amendment is null and void.