The official had asked the Chief Justice to leave due to the fear that he may have allowed the General’s release since he did not want public trust in the judiciary to wane. The official had then made arrangements for General Fonseka’s case to be heard by a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, who is believed to supportive of the government. The necessary legal background for the case had been briefed to Justice Banadaranayake by Minister G.L. Pieris. Bandaranayake had been one of Pieris’ star pupils in the Colombo Law Faculty.

The top government official had also tried to remove Justice Shiranee Thilekawardena from sitting on the bench on General Fonseka’s case. However, due to the doubts that could arise on the transparency of the case if such a move was made, the official was forced to allow Justice Thilekawardena to hear the case.

The rules to be followed when hearing a case on human rights have been highlighted in Clause 126 in the Constitution, where it is said that the final verdict of the case should be delivered within two moths to prevent the victim from suffering any injustice.

However, following the request of the top government official, Justice Bandaranayake in violation of the Constitution postponed the case to be taken up for hearing more than two months later and refused to release the General.

Courtesy: Lanka News Web