Justice Skandaraja believed an independent and vibrant Judiciary - Karu Jayasuriya
- Friday, 24 January 2014
'Justice Skandaraja believed in an Independent and vibrant Judiciary. He had the courage and the prowess to stand up to the powers that be, irrespective of the consequences' stated by Hon. Karu Jayasuriya,Chairman, United Leadership Council, UNP in his press statement.
Full text of Mr. Jayasuriya's press release as follows
We note with shock and dismay the sudden demise of the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Sri Skandaraja. He was a judge who believed in an Independent and vibrant Judiciary. He had the courage and the prowess to stand up to the powers that be, irrespective of the consequences.
These qualities were manipulated to such an extent by the Executive, whereby it has become inevitable that some fall prey to such pressures. Justice Sri Skandaraja, possessed the intellectual capacity and the courage to steer clear of such pressures and championed the cause of the Rule of Law that he fostered and nurtured at the cost of his life. For this he sacrificed decades of his professional life and the hard earned opportunity to serve the nation in the Apex Court.
This right of his was denied to him by the arbitrary and dictatorial actions of the Executive in a blatant and heinous manner. Such revengeful actions of the Executive snatched away his life in an untimely manner depriving the society of the luxury of an Independent Judge. The pinnacle of his Judicial Career was the Historical Judgment that was given by him when he presided over the Divisional Bench of the Court of Appeal quashing the arbitrary decision of the Parliamentary Select Committee that sought to punish the 43rd Chief Justice on trumped up charges. This Judgment was totally ignored by the Parliament and acted in violation of the same setting a black mark in the Parliamentary democracy.
We join the Civil Society to mourn the death of a great judge of our time, who was made to succumb to his death in the midst of a political witch hunt.
