Dutch-donated vehicle fundamental rights case
Current status of the Dutch-donated vehicle fundamental rights case
Separate non-criminal fundamental-rights proceeding arising from the Dutch-donated Disaster Management vehicle. On 29 September 2026 the Supreme Court held that Fowzie's personal use of the vehicle violated Article 12(1) of the Constitution and ordered him to pay about Rs. 6.6 million and publish a public apology.
What’s happened
Civil/constitutional ruling only - not a criminal conviction and carries no custodial sentence. Petition filed by Chandra Jayaratne. Orders: Rs. 1,664,334.93 to the Consolidated Fund within one month (vehicle expenses) and the balance (reported as Rs. 5 million exemplary compensation) within two months; half-page apology with a photograph of the vehicle in Silumina, Sunday Observer and Thinakaran within one month. Bench: CJ Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva (author) and Arjuna Obeyesekere. Deadlines run from 29 Sep 2026 and have not yet been reported as met.
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Next hearing / due
- Next hearing not confirmed
Dutch-donated vehicle fundamental rights case timeline
- 29 September 2026
Hearing
The Supreme Court (Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justices Janak de Silva and Arjuna Obeyesekere) delivered judgment in the fundamental-rights petition filed by Chandra Jayaratne, holding that Fowzie's personal use of the Dutch-donated Disaster Management vehicle violated Article 12(1). He was ordered to pay about Rs. 6.6 million (Rs. 1,664,334.93 within one month, the balance within two months) and to publish a public apology with a photograph of the vehicle in three newspapers. This is a non-criminal ruling, not a conviction.
Court: Supreme Court