COLOMBO: Unfazed by the intense agitation for his ouster, spearheaded by the new Maithripala Sirisena government and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Supreme Court Chief Justice Mohan Peiris seems determined to stay put.
BASL has been boycotting the controversial judge, known to be a henchman of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Attorney General’s office had withdrawn an invitation extended to him to attend the Conference of Asian Attorneys General. He was not present at the swearing-in ceremony of the new President and Prime Minister. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera had personally submitted a petition to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe his involvement in former President Rajapaksa’s alleged plot to stage a military coup on January 9. On Friday, the CID questioned Peiris.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had asked him to resign. Peiris asked for time, which was granted. But he did not keep his word. The latest deadline, he has given himself, is Monday January 26.
Peiris’ delaying tactic has spawned intense speculation in the legal fraternity and in political circles.
Since there is no proven charge against him (the CID investigation has just started), Peiris cannot be impeached for misconduct yet. And Impeachment by parliament is the only way to remove a Supreme Court judge.
But the BASL says that Peiris can be removed on the grounds that his appointment was not legal. He had been appointed Chief Justice in 2003 when that post was “not vacant”. The parliamentary resolution on which President Rajapaksa sacked Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake had called for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the charges against her. Parliament had unwittingly passed the same resolution twice! Justice Bandaranayake was not sacked as per rules, and therefore, there was no vacancy for Peiris to fill it.
Government is clueless about how to get round this tricky situation. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is ready to send Peiris off on a diplomatic assignment, but Peiris is choosy. Grapevine has it that Rajapaksa is urging Peiris not to resign as he would come back after the April parliamentary elections.
