Concerns raised on ‘insulting’ comments made by Sanath Nishantha against judges 

• Premadasa says one law applied to Ramanayake and another to others
• Calls on insults to courts and journalists to stop
• Court orders CID to probe comments made by SLPP MP 

Commenting on the recent remarks made by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Sanath Nishantha on the Judiciary, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said Government Ministers and MPs are not only toying with the media and Judiciary but are also making comments that are disrespectful to the courts. 

SLPP MP Sanath Nishantha said: “Some of these judges must be held responsible, these criminals are taken away today and given bail and let out tomorrow,” SLPP MP Sanath Nishantha had said at a press briefing held recently referring to the recent arrests of those engaged in the citizen’s struggle. 

Premadasa pointed out that one law is being implemented on Ranjan Ramanayake while another law seems to apply to certain MPs of the Government. “These insults against the courts and journalists must stop,” he said. 

Meanwhile declaring the National Centre for the Citizen’s Struggle open yesterday in Vauxhall Street, Sarva Pakshika Aragalakaruwo (an organisation party to the Galle Face protests) Media Spokesman Nirashan Vithanage said the time has come for President Ranil Wickremesinghe to apply the law fairly by taking action against the MP for making disparaging remarks about the courts. 

“The MP, who is currently on bail, is claiming the judges are responsible for the ‘criminals’ of the protests being released,” he said. “Let us watch if the law applied to Ranjan Ramanayake will not be applied to Sanath Nishantha,” he noted. 

The comments made by Nishantha were also brought to the notice of courts by Upul Jayasuriya PC yesterday. Jayasuriya told the Colombo Fort Magistrate that Sanath Nishantha at a media briefing had made comments in a manner that affected the Judiciary. 

Jayasuriya said the comments made by the MP also affect the counsels and officials of the Attorney General’s Department who attend to judicial matters.

Accordingly, Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the Criminal Investigations Department to obtain the original video of the press conference where the MP made the comments from the respective media institution and conduct an investigation.

SLPP MP Sanath Nishantha is a suspect in the case filed over the attacks on the GotaGoGama protest site on 9 May 2022.