DailyMirror
The Chairman and two Commissioners of the Bribery Commission who served their full five-year terms of office that ended on February 28 had complained to the Supreme Court against its incumbent Director General for the alleged anomalies and non payment of their arrears of the increased salaries from January 1, 2006 up to the end of January 2009.
They have also complained against her for the alleged anomalies in the computation of their payments for their fuel entitlements of 250 litres per month instead of the fixed fuel allowance of Rs 7,000.
Justice Ameer Ismail (President) as well as the other two Commissioners Justice Punyadasa and Indra de Silva (Retired IGP) filed their fundamental rights applications through their Attorney-at-Law Gowry Shangary Thavarasha last Friday (16).
They cited Director General Mrs. Luckshmi Jayawickrema and Deputy Director (Finance) Ms E.D. Kumudu of the Bribery Commission as well as the President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Director General (Budget) attached to the Finance Ministry Ms Sudharma Karunaratne and the Attorney General as Respondents.
Petitioners pointed out that the futility of repeated requests being made by the 1st Respondent Mrs Jayawickrema to the Attorney General to clarify the payment of the increased salary for 2006, the Attorney General had already stated that the Petitioners are entitled to the payment of the increased salary in full for the year 2006.
They alleged that the conduct of the Director General Mrs. Jayawickrema was due to her general inefficiency and incompetence on her part, and if not, a deceitful and deliberate abuse and misuse of power to delay a legitimately due payment causing the Petitioners financial loss.They stated the salaries of the Chairman and members of the said Commission were determined by Parliament and charged on the Consolidated Fund and cannot be diminished during their terms of office.
They stated that by letter dated 11.02.2009, the President’s Secretary informed the Commission that Parliament had made a fresh determination on 29.01.2009 increasing the salary and allowances payable to the Chairman and Members of the Commission.They alleged that they were paid the said increased salary with effect from February 2009 until their term of office ended on 28.03.2010. However, in terms of the Parliamentary determination, they are also entitled to arrears of the increase in salary from 01.01.2006 up to end of January 2009, but they had not been paid the said arrears, they bemoaned.
They also complained that commencing from February 2009, the fuel allowance of 250 litres per month as directed by the President was not paid to them and instead they were only paid the fixed fuel allowances of Rs 14,400/12,000 per month.They alleged that apart from the anomaly in the payment of their fuel allowance, the Director General and the Deputy Director (Finance) of the Commission have arbitrarily, capriciously, unreasonably and maliciously computed the arrears of salary payable to them from 01.01.2006 to 29.01.2009 to their detriment.
They complained that notwithstanding the clear language of the Parliament entitling them to the payment of the difference in salary as arrears as well as in defiant disregard of the opinion expressed by the Attorney General, the acts and omissions of the Director General and of the said Commission and Deputy Director (Finance) of the said Commission in delaying and refusing to pay them the arrears of salary are illegal, arbitrary, irrational and tainted by mala fide and deny them the equal protection of law.