Sanath Nishantha issued notice for comments on judiciary

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Sri Lankan Court of Appeal issued notice on MP Sanath Nishantha to make submissions on the 13th of September 2022 with regard to two petitions filed against him alleging that he committed contempt of court.

The petitions were called up in the presence of Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, and R. Gurusinghe on Thursday (8).

President's Counsel Upul Jayasuriya and Saliya Peiris appearing for the petitioners made submissions, and thereafter the Justices of the Court of Appeal decided to consider the petitions on the 13th of September 2022.

The petitions were filed by Attorneys-at-Law Priyalala Sirisena and Vijitha Kumara.

The petition states that Sanath Nishantha was named as a suspect by the Attorney General in the incident surrounding the attack on the GotaGoGama Protest Site at Galle Face on the 9th of May 2022, and thereafter he was arrested by the CID, remanded by the Fort Magistrate's Court, and then released on bail.

It added that the respondent Sanath Nishantha, who is out on bail, speaking to reporters at the SLPP Office on the 23rd of August 2022, made comments criticizing the conduct of the Magistrate on granting bail to the Aragalaya protestors.

The petition notes that the comments made by the MP brought disrepute to the courts, and challenged the Rule of Law.

It notes that the statements had been made to break the trust the people have placed with the judiciary.

The petitioners noted that Sanath Nishantha had committed contempt of court as per Article 105 (3) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

The petition requests that a charge sheet be filed, and Sanath Nishantha be questioned as to why he should not be punished, and be penalized for the charges.