Telecom - SriLankan Airlines - Insurance - Lanka Hospitals will not be sold

The Attorney General officially informed the Supreme Court yesterday (02) that the decision taken by the previous government to sell Sri Lanka Telecom, Air Lanka (SriLankan Airlines), state insurance companies, and Lanka Hospitals will not be implemented under the current government.

This notification was made when a fundamental rights petition filed by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara and others, requesting to prevent the privatization of the relevant state institutions, was considered before the court. The then Cabinet of Ministers, led by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, had been named as respondents in this petition.

The petition was called before the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Achala Wengappuli, Mahinda Samayawardhana, and Sampath Abeykoon, where the government counsel representing the Attorney General clarified the current government's position to the court. She further emphasized that the decision to sell those companies has been abandoned, and instead, committees have currently been appointed only with the aim of restructuring those institutions.

After presenting facts regarding this new government decision, Attorney Kanishka Vitharana, appearing for the petitioner's side along with Attorney Savathi Rajakaruna, informed the court that their side no longer had the need to pursue the relevant petition. The Supreme Court, having considered all the facts presented, decided to conclude the hearing of the petitions.