The Court of Appeal has issued a notice to former Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra to appear before the Court on charges of Contempt of Court.

The notice was issued on Wednesday (Apr 17) by the Court of Appeal two-judge bench consisting of Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Dammika Ganepola after hearing submissions made on behalf of the complainant.

According to the complainant Hisham Jamaldeen, former MP Hirunika had made a statement to the media regarding the order of the Magistrate in granting bail to him, whilst there is an ongoing proceeding before the Magistrate’s Court of Mount Lavinia.

It was submitted that inter alia this is tantamount to interference with ongoing judicial proceedings and an attempt to create suspicions in the minds of the general public towards the administration of justice.

It was claimed that such a statement was contempt of court and an application was made for a ruling to be issued against Hirunika Premachandra for committing the offence of Contempt of Court.

Accordingly, a notice was issued for former MP Hirunika Premachandra to appear before the Court of Appeal on May 08, 2024.

Nishan Sydney Premathiratne with Gamindu Karunasena, instructed by Sarravanan Neelakandan Law Associates, appeared on behalf of the complainant.

(Newswire)

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

The proposed electricity sector reforms have been published in the government gazette on Wednesday (17).

Posting on ‘X’, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara said that accordingly the Bill will be presented to the Parliament in the next sitting week.

Amendments suggested by the stakeholders in January have been drafted into the revised Bill and the public will have two weeks from the day of presenting the Bill to the Parliament to challenge its legality in the Supreme Court, the minister adds.

The Additional Magistrate of Anuradhapura, Kanchana Narthana Abhimani Seneviratne has directed Anuradhapura Range Forest Officer Sumith Suvaris to initiate legal proceedings against a businessman accused of clearing 18 acres in the Mihintale Forest Reserve in the Maradankulama area, and illegally attempting to acquire an additional six acres by setting it on fire. 

The Forest Conservation Department highlighted that all four permits allegedly associated with the land are fraudulent.
Consequently, the Additional Magistrate has further instructed Ranger Suvaris to file a complaint with the Anuradhapura Special Crime Investigation Division and pursue further legal action.

During the Court proceedings for case number B/123/2024, Suvaris reported that the accused businessman had unlawfully cleared and destroyed portions of the land within the Mihintale Divisional Secretariat Division’s No. 586, Grama Seva Thulane. He also presented evidence of the accused having forged documents purporting ownership. The Range Forest Officer informed Court that a written inquiry conducted by the Director General of Forest Conservation with the Divisional Secretary of Mihintale revealed inconsistencies in the permits provided by the defendant. Assistant Divisional Secretary M.M.K.Chandragupta, on behalf of Divisional Secretary N.B.J.A. Nayaka Bandara, communicated that the Mihintale Divisional Secretariat holds no records or documents supporting the licences claimed by the accused.

Further, the Court was informed that one of the authorisation papers bore a signature falsely attributed to the former District Secretary of Anuradhapura, T.K.Dasanayake. Sirimevan Dharmasena, the former Mihintale Divisional Secretary, confirmed in writing to the Director General of Forest Conservation that the signature was not that of former District Secretary Dasanayake’s.

(dailynews.lk)

 (This story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)