SC refuses interim relief in Colombo City advertising hoardings case

The Supreme Court yesterday refused interim relief to petitioners in six Fundamental Rights cases filed against the respondents, the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) the Mayor of Colomho and the Municipal Commissioner. The petitioners had sought interim relief preventing the respondents from dismantling the advertising hoardings erected by them in the City of Colombo.

It was submitted by the counsel for the respondents however that the CMC by-laws X-2, which the petitioners had admitted amounted to law, made it compulsorily that no person can erect such a hoarding otherwise than under a formal licence granted under those by-laws and that the petitioners did not have any such licence and that they must conform to the licensing process including the guidelines, if they are to maintain the hoardings legally and that otherwise, such hoardings had to be dismantled.

It was further submitted for the respondents that the CMC had decided to enforce the Guidelines X 26 in conjunction with the by-laws rigorously and without exception, in the public interest and to insist on the procurement of licences, to enable the regularising of any such constructions, as unlicensed hoardings posed a threat to the city and its residents.

In these circumstances, the Supreme Court refused the application for interim relief and leave to proceed was granted.

It was agreed that the petitioners' applications for licences would be considered by the CMC and the CMC would decide whether licences should be granted or not, in terms of the guidelines X 26.

The CMC will made its decision on the issue of licences by February 6 and communicate the same to the petitioners on February 9 and whatever hoardings are determined by the CMC not to comply with the guidelines X 26 will have to be removed by the petitioner by February 13 and if they are not removed by the said date, the CMC will be entitled to remove the same without notice to the petitioners.

The case was fixed to be mentioned before the Supreme Court on February 28. S. L. Gunasekara with Maithree Wickremesinghe, instructed by Sudat Perera Associates, appeared for the petitioners in all six cases.

Sanjeeva Jayawardena with Rajeev Amarasuriya appeared for the CMC and the Mayor of Colombo.