The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has decided not to hear the Fundamental Rights (FR) Petitions filed against President Ranil Wickremesinghe in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
The court issued the directive today, taking into mind the fact that Ranil Wickremesinghe is the current President, and ruled that the FR petitions not be heard at this time.
The verdict was issued after a seven-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya heard 12 Fundamental Rights applications.
These fundamental rights applications were brought by a number of parties, including the Sri Lanka Bar Association, Catholic priests, families of those killed in the Easter attacks, and relatives of the deceased.
Former President Maithripala Sirisena had previously informed the Supreme Court that he opposes removing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been named as a respondent in the FR petitions filed on the Easter attacks, from accountability under the immunity granted to a current head of state by the Constitution.
Attorney-at-Law Suren Fernando, who represented President Ranil Wickramasinghe, raised an objection before the court today, claiming that because his client has been elected as President, it is not permissible to prosecute him under Article 35 of the Constitution.
However, in light of the concerns raised by other parties, the Supreme Court directed the lawyers of former President Maithripala Sirisena, who is designated as a respondent in the petitions, to file their preliminary objections on Wednesday (27).