Chief Justice found guilty of three charges
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which probed charges against the Chief Justice has found her guilty of three out of the first five charges contained in the impeachment motion and investigated by the committee.
Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake has been found guilty of the 1st, 4th and 5th charges in the impeachment while there is insufficient proof on the 2nd and 3rd charges, said Chairman of the PSC, Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.
Therefore all other charges, in the impeachment for her removal from office based on 14 charges of private and professional misconduct as the top judge, have been disregarded, he said.
As three out of five charges have been proven it is sufficient to impeach the Chief Justice, said Minister and a member of the impeachment panel Nimal Siripala de Silva, speaking at a special press briefing at the Parliamentary Complex today.
Charge No.01 states that Dr Shirani Bandaranayake had purchased property from Trillium Residencies belonging to the company that was known as Ceylinco Housing and Property Company, referred in the list of property in the fundamental rights case under her court and serving as the presiding judge of the benches hearing the said cases.
The PSC, under charge No.04 has also found the Chief Justice guilty of failing to declare the details of more than twenty bank accounts maintained in various banks including nine accounts in NDB Bank.
According to charge No.05 Bandaranayake is accused of acting in a bias manner regarding cases pertaining to her husband, Pradeep Kariyawasam a suspect in relation to legal action initiated at the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo in connection with the offences regarding acts of bribery or corruption.
The committee looking into the allegations against the country’s first woman Chief Justice on Saturday presented its report to the Parliament.
The PSC report was submitted despite opposition members walking out of the PSC on Friday calling it a hurried process. Bandaranayake herself and her lawyers walked out of the proceedings on Thursday.
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa had informed Parliament that the report will be taken up for debate in one month’s time,in accordance with the Article 78 of the Standing orders of the Parliament.
It was not immediately clear if Bandaranayake has to step down effectively from now or has to wait until parliament debates the impeachment investigations in January.
Courtesy: Ada Derana
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Actually intelligent people in the country knew the process in advance and the results. They know what will also happen next. The impeachment is a planned process.
On the 6th Dec, I wrote “the conclusion is a foregone conclusion” and was severly criticised by Indra and others. Well, what’s happened now?
The most significant fallout is the opposition’s consent to participate and subsequent pull-out from PSC proceedings.
The 2 greenie guys participated because the Greenie King’s godfather, the Great Fox, is the author of this draconian section of the constitution and the Greenie King thinks he is the incarnate of the Great Fox. The octagenarion I believe, doesn’t know what he is doing. He is senile. The Red Brother considers participating in the PSC a privilege; this is his last chance before a total electoral anhillation.
Well, the circus continues over the festive season. Three wheel taxi drivers will soon parade the streets calling for the CJ’s resignation.
Fun and games indeed; the SC is ruling on the constitutional validity of the PSC coming week. Are we now a Pakistani or Zimbabwean style democracy??
“The impeachment is a planned process”.
Equally any criminal can stay silent giving the same reason!
We have to deal with bribery and corruption no matter who the individual is, high or low. Justice has to be served and seen to be served. It was wrong of the opposition parties’ PSC members to walk out of the hearing at the end, no doubt at the instigation of their parties. How can justice be served then? That was petty-minded in order to try to disrupt the judicial process. It amounts to contempt of court. The people who walked out need to be punsihed as well.
SB was found guilty of bribery and corruption. She could not explain satisfactorily to the nation how she came by such large amounts of money and property. Was it from her husband who is now charged with the same offences?
No matter how high the person is, the nation must be made aware that no one is above the law. Every one has to submit to judicial process if charges are brought against them. The courts are there to give a fair hearing. SB has failed to explain the source of the large amounts of savings and property she held. She had her day in court, she has failed. No one can accuse the govt of corruption in trying to prove an innocent party guilty. The PSC hearings were public hearings. So everything was above board.
However, there are politicians who have got away with crime and murder, just because they are special friends of the Hon President. These are grave injustices. Justice has to be served to all alike, irrespective of connections with the Hon President. I hope the Hon President brings to justice one day, the man who killed Hirunika’s father and is in hiding in Singapore, pretending to be convalescing. Kudu Duminda are you returning to SL or staying away for good ‘convalescing’?
And the CJ also had an equally planned process to commit the crimes as proved against her.
Probably only criminals can predict other criminal’s thinking pattern , their opinions and expressions in advance.
General public, educated innocent people and intellectuals in the country do not know any thing what criminals think of, I believe.
CJ was given a platform to put her side of the story regardless of the forgone conclusion Chumapa mentioned. She did not use it. Nicholas has mentioned the past. If the parliament has been elected by the people, its will is above all. Judiciary can not challenge the parliament. It was a joke CJ and her supporters to go to the Judiciary to summon members of the committee.
Oh what a shame,corruption from top to bottom.
Why husband of CJ was appointed as the chairman of NSB ? Is not it a wrong ? If he had not been appointed, CJ would not have at least one accuse that her husband has a trail filed by bribery commission.
The politicians wanted to use CJ but it made some troubles .
I know she is not completely right. But almost of all government officials have misconduct and if government needs they can fire.