Two Supreme Court Judges Refuse To Sit With Shiranee At Monday’s Sittings
By Colombo Telegraph - December 17, 2012
Hulfsdorp was agog today with the news that two Supreme Court judges were refused to sit with Justice Shiranee Tillekewardene.
Justices Shiranee Tilakawardane
Justice Tilakawardane was presiding over the bench listed to hear 26 cases at Court 502 of the Supreme Court. The other judges scheduled to sit were Justices Chandra Ekanayake and S.I. Imam. However when both judges did not make an appearance, Justice Tilakawardane who was the only judge in attendance was compelled to postpone all the cases scheduled for the day because of the
Reportedly this refusal was over her testimony before the Parliamentary Select Committee which had engaged in an impeachment inquiry into Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and before which justiceTillekewardene had given damaging views against the Chief Justice.
Justice Tillekewardene sat alone as a single judge and postponed all cases coming up before her. A lawyer who was involved in the anti impeachment protests stated to Colombo Telegraph that this was the silent protest that judges with a conscience should carry out against those who ‘collaborate with the Mahinda Rajapaksa in order to degrade the judiciary’. ‘We should have had this happening a long time ago’, he said.
Senior lawyers say that this was the first time that they had seen a single judge bench of the Supreme Court during their legal careers. “It has never happened before,” another lawyer said.
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Janaka Ratnayake exposed by Shirani Thilekawardena’s evidence
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
The President has had to face an unexpected situation following the evidence given by Supreme Court judge Shirani Thilekawardena before the parliamentary select committee (PSC) that probed the impeachment motion, it is learnt.
Thilekawardena was brought to record evidence against the Chief Justice and she had revealed the truth behind the Ceylinco Shriram deal. The evidence had revealed that the irregular activities in the transaction had been carried out by the heads of the bank and Presidential relative, Janaka Ratnayake.
Head of the PSC, Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa had immediately informed the President about Thilekawardena’s evidence and had directed the amendment of her evidence. The President had directed Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal to go before the PSC and give evidence to clear Janaka Ratnayake from the Ceylinco Shriram deal.
The Central bank Governor had carried out the directive by going before the PSC and handing a document prepared by him to clear Ratnayake.
