Sri Lanka's highest court has declared that parts of a right to information bill contravene the constitution and it will need a two-thirds majority in Parliament to become law.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said today that the Supreme Court found five verses of the bill contravene the constitution.
They are mainly the clauses that vest sovereignty on the citizens. A key provision declared unconstitutional would allow denial of requested information if it is deemed contempt of court.
The bill was tabled after being presented in Parliament in March. It is a key election pledge by President Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated his strongman predecessor in the January 2015 election.
However some citizens' bodies had challenged the bill in court.
