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Editorial - A people's right
Those who try to interpret the ongoing battle between the Judiciary and the Executive as a personal dispute may be blind to the fact that the manner in which the latter has been behaving in the process reeks of partiality. The core of the matter lies far beneath the Impeachment procedure and the theatrics of the Select Committee that was appointed to look into the charges against the CJ. The incumbent government is well-known for its mechanisms to make the dissent fall in line. And it is not Dr. Bandaranayake who stood on the other side of the bank; it is the Supreme Court.
At the end of the day, one should not forget that it was the signature of the President that sealed her appointment. There is nothing sensational about hearing a dissident by default being pronounced an archenemy; yet, it becomes news if such a fate befalls a favourite.
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The story of Dr. Bandaranayake falls into the latter.
Since of late, the courts of law have been subjected to many whirlwinds of power. Yet, Supreme Court has been the sole institution where people sought solace at the hands of various forms of injustice. Predictably, its line of enemies is lengthening, because the Judiciary stood by the people when the proud fathers and all powerful godfathers were looking for havens and hideouts for their errant pets. If not for the Supreme Court, the A/L results muddle would have remained a muddle. Divi Neguma Bill would have been doubtful piece of legislation.
Is it a sense of insecurity of the regime that has it looking for a sensitive nerve to counter attack. Despite the divisions among the safe-keepers of law, the fiasco comes as a threat to anyone who would refuse to bow down to a misused power of the regime. Perhaps, it is misinterpreting the mandate people granted the regime. Jumping over the fundamental and ethical boundaries, the regime even decides when the people should protest and when they should be silent.
It is not about whether Dr. Bandaranayake is innocent or guilty. It is about whether she receives a fair hearing. The stark truth that is glaring in the face of the public is, if the head of the highest institution that metes out justice is denied the fundamentals of natural justice, the regime will care less to see those of the public are safeguarded.
In the contemporary Sri Lanka, when all the other fundamentals of democracy have long died a silent death, it is only the independence of the judiciary that has been breathing through the troubled times. The death of it would be the death of people’s freedom to be equal before law and their ultimate right to be right.
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