INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
07) by Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse.In its determination, the Supreme Court has noted that the Online Safety Bill could be passed by a
simple majority in the parliament following Committee Stage amendments on certain clauses.Pursuant to Article 84(2) of the Constitution,
Clauses 3, 5, 7, 9, 11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 37, 42, 45, 53, and 56 should be
be passed by a simple majority in the parliament, the Supreme Court has said further.As such, the Supreme Court has arrived at the
conclusion that subject to the aforementioned particulars, neither the Online Safety Bill nor its provisions are inconsistent with the
Constitution.On October 19, the Supreme Court concluded deliberation of the petitions filed challenging the much-debated Online Safety Bill,
which had been tabled in the parliament by the government recently
The hearings were held before the three-member Supreme Court judge bench consisting of Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Achala Vengapulli and
Wickremesinghe and Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.During the October 18 parliamentary session, the Speaker revealed that 45
petitions in total had been filed against the proposed legislation.Petitions were filed by many parties including social activist and
independent journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara; Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith; the Socialist Youth Union (SYU); General Secretary of Samagi Jana
Peiris, challenging various provisions included in the legislation, alleging that the relevant bill is in violation of the fundamental
rights of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution.The petitioners had sought an order determining that if the
relevant bill were to be passed, it must be approved by a two-thirds majority in parliament, followed by a referendum.The Online Safety
Bill, published in the government gazette on September 18, aims to ban online communication of certain statements in the country, prevent
support of communication of false statements and other related matters.However, the Bill has come under fire for some of its problematic
aspects, with the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) which consists of multiple tech giants including Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Yahoo,
the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), and the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL)
