Champika to be charged for Contempt of Court!

Champika to be charged for Contempt of Court!

BY STANLEY SAMARASINGHE-2015-09-09

Three lawyers from Belmont Street, Colombo 12 filed a Contempt of Court Petition against Minister of Megapolis and Western Province Development, Patali Champika Ranawaka.The petition, filed under Section 105(3) of the Constitution states that a news bulletin announced on a TV channel on 26 July 2015 had telecast a footage of Minister Ranawaka making malicious and contemptuous utterances regarding the Supreme Court.

Petitioners Roshan Devinda Ranaweera, Ranjith Ranasinghe and Nimal Weerakkody in their petition have cited Patali Champika Ranawaka, the IGP and the Attorney General as respondents.The petition, filed by Attorney-at-Law Aruna Vishvajith Pathirana Arachchi, was also supported by a compact disk (CD) containing the televised news footage.
The petitioners state that utterances made by the first respondent are malicious and contemptuous of the Supreme Court. They were delayed in coming to Court earlier because they could not obtain the transcript of the CD early, the petition added.
Therefore, the petitioners requested Court to issue notice on the respondents and to direct the Registrar of the Supreme Court to summon the News Editor of the TV station in question to ascertain the veracity of the utterances made by Patali Champika Ranawaka.

The petitioners also request Court to take necessary steps to punish Patali Champika Ranawaka for his reported malicious and contemptuous statement.