SC dismisses petitions filed against privatisation of SLT

The Supreme Court yesterday refused to grant leave to proceed with two fundamental rights petitions filed against the possible restructuring of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) by two employee Trade Unions. 

One was filed by Union Leaders J.B. Gurusinghe and H.K. Hettiarachchi on behalf of the Sri Lanka All Telecommunication Employees Union, while the other petition was filed by the President of Sri Lanka Telecom Samagi Sewaka Sangamaya Indika Priyadarshana. 

After careful deliberation, the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench, consisting of Justices Murdu Fernando, Kumudini Wickramasinghe, and Priyantha Fernando, dismissed the petitions.

In their petitions, the trade union leaders of SLT argued that the decision made by the Cabinet of Ministers to divest the government-owned shares in SLT amounted to a violation of their fundamental rights. 

During the hearing of the petitions in the Supreme Court, Deputy Solicitor General Rajeeva Gunathilake informed the court that the Cabinet of Ministers had approved in March 2023 to proceed with the restructuring of SLT. He further stated that this proposal was also endorsed in the budget speech delivered by the President in his role as the Finance Minister.

Deputy Solicitor General Rajeeva Gunathilake also argued that the concerns raised by the petitioners regarding potential threats to national security due to the privatisation of SLT were unfounded and without merit.

Additionally, the Deputy Solicitor General emphasised that the proposed move would not be detrimental to the interests of the shareholders or subscribers of SLT, contradicting the claims made in the petitions. Accordingly, he urged the apex court to reject the grant of leave to proceed with the two fundamental rights petitions.