Impeachment: Minister Rajitha who was convicted by court to hear the motion -whither SL’s justice ?
By –Wimal Dheerasekera
(Lanka-e-News, 20.Nov.2012, 11.55PM) After the Parliamentary select Committee held its first session to examine the impeachment motion against the chief justice (CJ), the copy of the indictments sent to the CJ giving unreasonably very short notice did not carry with it the annexure listing the witnesses or the relevant documents, nor the Select Committee permission was sought, according to reports . Usually , when a charge sheet is addressed, that should attach the list of prosecution witnesses expected to be summoned in support as well as the relevant documents . Yet in the charge sheet addressed to the CJ none of these relevant documents had been annexed. Moreover , the select committee permission for these documents had also not been obtained on that day.
It is noteworthy that the time allowed for the CJ to file answers for the charges is only one week. Usually in any inquiry, the accused is allowed at least one month to file answers. Even in charges of rapes and murders the rapists and murderers respectively are given two months time at least . In other words the CJ holding an exalted office has not been granted an opportunity to defend herself even as much as that given to notorious Julampitiya Amare the underworld criminal (who addresses MaRa fondly as ‘aiyya’).
Under the constitution , an impeachment motion can be tabled only based on charges that can be substantiated. But in this impeachment motion laden with venomous and vindictive objectives , even the affidavit , the list of witnesses and the relevant documents have not been appended to the charge sheet , let alone the charges being provable . In such circumstances , are there charges that are tenable? . A preliminary inquiry must be made in that regard. Only if there is a basis for charges being framed on that preliminary inquiry , then and only then , the motion should be advanced.
Rajitha who was convicted by courts is judge – can you beat that !- learn about MaRa’s special court
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Owing to these flaws, lapses and many others more this impeachment motion , to borrow the words in the language of the Medamulana village , ‘ it has become the impeachment by their mothers in the backwoods’. This chaos and confusion has precipitated a legal crisis :
There is no ascertainment on whether the MPs appointed to this Select Committee to inquire , are able to vote in this regard when it is tabled in Parliament. Ethically , these MPs who sat in this inquiry cannot vote for or against in Parliament on this issue. Nothing has been mentioned pertaining to this .
Of the 225 MPs , so far 117 have signed the motion. If in case this number increases to 220 and as there is no limit to the number of signatories, how is the select committee going to be appointed has not been indicated .
There are also issues in regard to the suitability of MPs appointed to the Select Committee. Leave alone Wimal Weerawansa’s unsuitability , the biggest setback is the appointment of epilepsy jerks prone Minister Rajitha Senaratne to the Committee even after being aware that while he was an M.P. , he was convicted by court for doing business on dental drugs . Due to this , he was even removed from his MP post. Later after transferring the business in his wife’s name in order to circumvent the law, came back as an M P on the ‘ chit’ system. No matter what, he was still a convict , (not just a suspect) and was punished by the SL court . How can in a country where such a convict who is even disallowed to get a Govt. job be deemed suitable to inquire into wrongs of a CJ? Is it because his epileptic neck jerks considered an additional qualification ?
By –Wimal Dheerasekera
(Lanka-e-News, 20.Nov.2012, 11.55PM) After the Parliamentary select Committee held its first session to examine the impeachment motion against the chief justice (CJ), the copy of the indictments sent to the CJ giving unreasonably very short notice did not carry with it the annexure listing the witnesses or the relevant documents, nor the Select Committee permission was sought, according to reports . Usually , when a charge sheet is addressed, that should attach the list of prosecution witnesses expected to be summoned in support as well as the relevant documents . Yet in the charge sheet addressed to the CJ none of these relevant documents had been annexed. Moreover , the select committee permission for these documents had also not been obtained on that day.
It is noteworthy that the time allowed for the CJ to file answers for the charges is only one week. Usually in any inquiry, the accused is allowed at least one month to file answers. Even in charges of rapes and murders the rapists and murderers respectively are given two months time at least . In other words the CJ holding an exalted office has not been granted an opportunity to defend herself even as much as that given to notorious Julampitiya Amare the underworld criminal (who addresses MaRa fondly as ‘aiyya’).
Under the constitution , an impeachment motion can be tabled only based on charges that can be substantiated. But in this impeachment motion laden with venomous and vindictive objectives , even the affidavit , the list of witnesses and the relevant documents have not been appended to the charge sheet , let alone the charges being provable . In such circumstances , are there charges that are tenable? . A preliminary inquiry must be made in that regard. Only if there is a basis for charges being framed on that preliminary inquiry , then and only then , the motion should be advanced.
Rajitha who was convicted by courts is judge – can you beat that !- learn about MaRa’s special court
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Owing to these flaws, lapses and many others more this impeachment motion , to borrow the words in the language of the Medamulana village , ‘ it has become the impeachment by their mothers in the backwoods’. This chaos and confusion has precipitated a legal crisis :
There is no ascertainment on whether the MPs appointed to this Select Committee to inquire , are able to vote in this regard when it is tabled in Parliament. Ethically , these MPs who sat in this inquiry cannot vote for or against in Parliament on this issue. Nothing has been mentioned pertaining to this .
Of the 225 MPs , so far 117 have signed the motion. If in case this number increases to 220 and as there is no limit to the number of signatories, how is the select committee going to be appointed has not been indicated .
There are also issues in regard to the suitability of MPs appointed to the Select Committee. Leave alone Wimal Weerawansa’s unsuitability , the biggest setback is the appointment of epilepsy jerks prone Minister Rajitha Senaratne to the Committee even after being aware that while he was an M.P. , he was convicted by court for doing business on dental drugs . Due to this , he was even removed from his MP post. Later after transferring the business in his wife’s name in order to circumvent the law, came back as an M P on the ‘ chit’ system. No matter what, he was still a convict , (not just a suspect) and was punished by the SL court . How can in a country where such a convict who is even disallowed to get a Govt. job be deemed suitable to inquire into wrongs of a CJ? Is it because his epileptic neck jerks considered an additional qualification ?
| The impeachment motion is beset with serious lapses and flaws . Usually , it is by referring to the Supreme court (SC) constitutional issues are legally resolved. Hence , in this instance too where there are countless lapses and issues , it must also be referred to the SC for a verdict. In that event , it is the same CJ who is on the bench. It is therefore very clear from all these what SL is looking forward to is an independent sacrosanct judiciary , and that is a must, and not an abominable MaRa judiciary. All these issues have begun proliferating because the hidden agenda in this impeachment motion of the Rajapakse village frogs is to overturn the sacrosanct independent judiciary and make it servile and subservient to their jungle laws . Therefore isn’t this impeachment motion rightly called as ‘ of the mothers in the backwoods of the Medamulana village crocodiles ? ’ The sole and whole objective of this Rajapakse regime is to expel the CJ , a chief justice of virtue and is therefore a thorn in their flesh , and by hook or by crook undermine the sacrosanct judiciary ,make it a rug to rub their feet on and their political citadel. |
| By –Wimal Dheerasekera |
