Impeached CJ before court today

16 September 2013 02:38 am

Controversially impeached Chief Justice 43, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake will appear before the Colombo Chief Magistrate today, creating history as the first Chief Justice to face a trial before a court of law.

Dr. Bandaranayake is to be served charges on three separate cases relating to non-declaration of assets during 2010, 2011 and 2012, at a time when she was holding the post of Chief Justice. The Bribery Commission has filed three cases with six charges against her, and all the cases relate to her alleged failure to declare her assets -- as every elected and public official is bound to do. The Bribery Commission has charged her before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court over the alleged non-declaration of assets in two accounts at the National Development Bank (NDB).

On July 29, the Colombo Magistrate issued notice on Dr. Bandaranayake to appear in Court on 16 September, in regard to a case filed by the Bribery Commission. She is facing charges of non declaration of assets in her annual declaration. Meanwhile, protesting against the Bribery Commission’s move to charge Dr. Bandaranayake, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the policy making body of country’s legal fraternity insisted that the Bribery Commission should file charges against Members of Parliament who had not declared their assets in keeping with the legal requirement.

 When the magistrate issued notice on Dr. Bandaranayake on July 29, this year, the BASL complained that the move was a mockery of justice. The BASL also had charged that there were blatant similar violations by politicians and public officials in the government but that no action had been taken against them. The BASL criticised the Bribery Commission stating that it had filed cases relating to accounts which had only zero balances. (Susitha R Fernando)