The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) which impeached the Sri Lankan Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, has found her guilty of three of the 14 charges made against her in the motion submitted by 117 ruling coalition MPs a month ago.
In the ex-parte report submitted to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa on December 8, the PSC said the Chief Justice had erred by transferring to her own bench a case involving Ceylinco Group companies which were constructing the Trillium Residencies in which she had an interest as the holder of a power of attorney given by a flat buyer, who happened to be her sister.
Secondly, she had failed to declare the details of over 20 bank accounts maintained in various banks.
Also, her husband Pradeep Kariyawasam is a suspect in a bribery case being heard in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. As the Chief Justice, she could influence the proceedings in that court.
Ex-parte Report
Earlier, the PSC submitted an ex-parte report because the Chief Justice had walked out from the proceedings of the panel on December 6, saying the panel was biased against her, and she would not appear before it again. The report was submitted on December 8 because of a one-month deadline.
Debate After Jan 8
Subsequently, the Speaker announced that parliament will debate the report for 10 days after January 8, when the House would assemble after a month-long recess. After the debate, the House will vote on an address to the country’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who will then decide whether the Chief Justice should be dismissed or not. There were 14 charges of “misbehavior” against the Chief Justice.
Overnight Witness Probe
Counsel for the Chief Justice complained that while she was not allowed to summon witnesses, the panel, comprising only the government nominees, had hurriedly summoned witnesses till well past 10 pm on December 7. The panel wrote the report overnight and submitted it to the Speaker early next day. “The procedure was invalid. Among other things, there is a case against the participation of two members of the panel from the government side, and yet they were party to the report. The President might sack the CJ on the basis of a parliamentary vote, but great harm will have been done to Lankan democracy in the process,” said Vijitha Hearth, panel member from the opposition.