Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that probed the charges against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, said today an acting chief justice, should be appointed until the impeachment process was completed.

At a media conference the minister alleged that the Chief Justice was manipulating the entire judicial system to her advantage.

“The Appeal Court referring the PSC report to the Supreme Court for its determination based on a constitutional interpretation is like asking the robber’s mother about a robbery. It is further evident that Chief Justice Bandaranayake is not fit to continue in her post because she is trying to sacrifice the whole judicial system to make her case,” he said referring to the SC determination on the PSC.

The minister said she was attempting to destabilise the country by showing the international community that the judiciary and legislature are at loggerheads.

“This is an attempt to implicate Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in March. We urge the people to stand up against these forces because the judiciary is being used to show an internal conflict in Sri Lanka. This will result in international interventions in Sri Lanka at the UNHRC sessions,” he said.

Commenting on notices issued by the Appeal Court on PSC members, the minister said the UNP members in the PSC did not go to courts because they were aware of the consequences if the judiciary tried to rule the country, “The United National Party (UNP) has the potential of taking office some day and it knows that parliament cannot be undermined. It is aware that it cannot allow the judiciary to control parliament. However the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) can never dream of taking office so they enjoy disrupting the country,” he said.

The minister said the ultimate sovereign power was with the people. He said this was directly conferred upon the parliament and the executive but the judiciary derives it indirectly. (Sarasi Paranamanna)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)