Litigation piles up: SC grants leave to proceed in Bar Association FR case

Tuesday, 4 December 2012 00:54 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to proceed in the fundamental rights petition filed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, challenging the impeachment against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Nimal Gamini Amaratunge, Priyasath Dep and Eva Wanasundera granted the petitioners leave to proceed with the case in respect of Article 12 (1) of the Constitution that guarantees all persons are equal under the law and entitled to equal protection under of the law.

The BASL last week filed the FR petition on the basis that the impeachment of the Chief Justice was a violation of their fundamental rights because it was unconstitutional and may have an impact on judicial decisions on the Government and the entire judicial system. The case was filed by BASL President Wijedasa Rajapakse MP and three others.

Ikram Mohamed PC appeared as counsel for the petitioners. The petitioners requested that an order be issued directing that Standing Order 78A of the Parliament was unconstitutional.

The three judge Supreme Court bench directed Respondents in the petition to file objections within four weeks and provided petitioners a time frame of two weeks after that to file counter objections. Counsel for the petitioners reserved the right to seek interim relief.

The case will be taken up for hearing on 21 January 2013. (DB)

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.