A fundamental rights petition was filed before the Supreme Court today seeking an interim injunction preventing Ranil Wickremesinghe from contesting in the Presidential Election on the 21st of September 2024.

The petition was filed by Attorney-At-Law R.S.P. Ranasuriya.

The petitioner is seeking a determination stating that the President is unsuitable to contest the Presidential Election as he violated the Constitution by disregarding a Supreme Court determination.

The petitioner states that Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken oaths as President under Article 30(1) of the Constitution, and as such has pledged to uphold the Constitution.

The petition further states that according to Article 107(7) of the Constitution, he is vested with powers to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

The petition highlights that the President’s nomination to promote Court of Appeal Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne as a Justice of the Supreme Court was not implemented as it did not receive approval from the Constitutional Council, and as such there are two vacancies for Supreme Court Justices and five vacancies in the Court of Appeal.

The petitioner points out that several fundamental rights petitions were filed before the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), highlighting that the Supreme Court, which allowed the hearing of those petitions, issued an interim order on the 24th of July, preventing Deshabandu Tennakoon from exercising his duties and powers as the IGP.

In pointing out that there is no obstacle for the President to appoint an Acting IGP according to the interim order, the petitioner states that the President appointed Minister Ali Sabry as the Minister of Justice, after claiming that he was unable to appoint an Acting IGP as he was a Presidential candidate. 

The petitioner states that the President has violated the provisions of the Constitution by failing to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court in accordance with the Constitution, and threatened public safety by failing to appoint an Acting IGP.

The petition further states that the President has intentionally violated the Constitution and abused his power through these actions, and is therefore, unfit to be a Presidential candidate.

The petitioner is also seeking an order stating that the President has violated the fundamental rights of the people through these actions and for an order to appoint a suitable Senior DIG from the Police Department as Acting IGP.

The petitioner has accordingly sought a Supreme Court ruling holding that the President is unfit to contest the upcoming Presidential Election.

(newsfirst.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by newsfirst.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)