The Supreme Court should reject President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s request to be excused from the proceedings in connection with the twelve fundamental rights petitions filed in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks, according to Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith.
The Colombo Archbishop today argued in written submissions to the Supreme Court that President Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot be excused from these proceedings.
President Ranil Wicremesinghe was made a party to a fundamental rights petition filed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka as the 8th respondent, for various acts or omissions that resulted in the violation of fundamental rights while he was serving as Prime Minister at the time of the Easter Attacks on April 21, 2019.
Archbishop of Colombo, who represents the most aggrieved party of the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks had been named as the 57th respondent.
In his written submissions, the Colombo Archbishop stated that the jurisdiction granted by Article 126 was introduced for the first time through the 19th Amendment and such jurisdiction has been thereafter preserved by the Legislature under the 20th Amendment as well.
Therefore by the said Article 35 (1), the Supreme Court can exercise its fundamental rights jurisdiction to scrutinize the acts and omissions of the President. Colombo Archbishop further submitted that discharging the President Wickremesinghe from these proceedings would accordingly directly contravene with the Articles 7 and 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Colombo Archbishop was represented by Shammil Perera PC.