Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has filed an application with the Supreme Court seeking contempt proceedings against former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and four former senior health officials over their alleged failure to pay a total of Rs. 275 million to the State as ordered by the Court.
The application follows the respondents’ alleged failure to comply with a Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 27, 2026, concerning irregularities in the procurement of medicines.
Under the judgment, Rambukwella was ordered to pay Rs. 75 million, while the former Secretary to the Ministry of Health, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), and the former Director of the Medical Supplies Division were each ordered to pay Rs. 50 million.
The Supreme Court had found that the respondents failed to establish the necessity of procuring medicines urgently while bypassing established procedures. It also determined that the relevant respondents had knowingly violated procurement regulations in facilitating purchases from a private supplier, thereby infringing the fundamental right to equal protection of the law guaranteed under Article 12(1) of the Constitution.
TISL said it had confirmed with the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Health that the ordered payments had not been made.
The organisation argued that, although the Court had not specified a deadline, the payments should have been made without delay. It alleged that the continued failure to comply with the judgment amounted to wilful disobedience and constituted contempt of court.
Filed under case number SC/Contempt/09/2026, the application seeks appropriate legal action under Article 105(3) of the Constitution and the Contempt of a Court, Tribunal or Institution Act No. 8 of 2024.
TISL stressed that compliance with Supreme Court judgments was essential to upholding the rule of law and constitutional accountability. The organisation has requested the Court to examine the alleged non-compliance and take appropriate action in accordance with the law.
