New Chairman Consumer Affairs Council

Sarath Malalasekera

Senior Criminal Lawyer Upali Senaratne has been appointed as the Chairman of Consumer Affairs Council by Trade Minister Johnston Fernando with immediate effect.

Senaratne with a wide and lucrative practice had held several important positions including Chairman, Land Reform Commission (LRC), Chairman Coconut Development Authority and Chairman Ceylon Ceramic Corporation.

He is a senior advisor to the SLFP Lawyers Association (Homagama) and an active committee member of the main SLFP Association.

Upali was the coordinator of the Homagama electorate during the Presidential and the General elections.

He appears in the Magistrate’s Courts, District Courts, High Courts, Court of Appeal and is a much sought after criminal lawyer.

Senaratne who had completed 32 years at the Bar had apprenticed in the chambers of A.C. (Bunty) de Zoysa. He was the junior counsel for President’s Counsel R.I. Obeysekere in the Father Mathew Peiris’ murder case and Criminal Defamation case of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

He had appeared in a number of important cases as the Senior Counsel including, Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka attempted murder case, Premakeerthi de Alwis murder case and the Postal Department Gold robbery case.

He also appeared for Commodore Manil Mendis at the Court Martial under the Navy Act.

In the expulsion case of Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, Senaratne appeared successfully for Minister Rambukwella as Junior Counsel to President’s Counsel D. S. Wijesinghe.

He is an old boy of St. Bede’s College Badulla and Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya. He entered the University of Colombo to follow the degree of Bachelor of Education and later entered the Colombo Law College, where he passed out as an Attorney-at-law and admitted to the Bar on March 28, 1978.