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Superior courts vacancies now stand at 7

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The number of vacancies in the superior courts has risen to seven, hampering their functions.

There are two vacancies in the Supreme Court and five in the Court of Appeal. All the vacancies have been created by retirement of judges.

Filling the vacancies has become problematic owing to the deadlock between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Constitutional Council (CC) over the proposed appointment of the President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne to the Supreme Court. The CC has so far rejected the recommendation made by President Wickremesinghe to appoint Justice Karunaratne to the Supreme Court.

The shortage of judges is felt most in the Court of Appeal. Owing to its five vacancies, two of the court’s benches do not function, raising concerns over a backlog of cases.

High Court Judges and Deputy Solicitors General at the Attorney General’s Department are qualified to be appointed to the superior courts.

The two positions in the Supreme Court fell vacant with the retirement of Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare in January and Priyantha Jayawardena in February. In the Court of Appeal, Justices Prasanna Silva, Lakshman Keerthisinghe, Neil Iddawala, Khema Swarnadhipathi and D.M. Samarakoon have retired. Justice Iddawala had retired to take up the post of Chairman of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The others had retired after reaching retirement age.

Another vacancy is due to be created in the Court of Appeal in October this year with the retirement of Justice Vikum Kaluarachchi.

(sundaytimes.lk)

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

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Former Eastern Provincial Council member arrested

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Ampara District Organizer of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal party and former member of the Eastern Provincial Council K. Pushpakumar alias Iniya Bharathi has been arrested.

He was arrested over the abduction and disappearance of the former Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University Prof. Subramaniyam Ravindranath.

Sivanathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) and former State Minister, was arrested by the Colombo Criminal Investigation Department at his office in Batticaloa on April 8, over this incident.

He was later detained for 3 months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Iniya Bharathi, also known as Kumaraswamy Pushpakumar, was arrested based on information revealed during the interrogation of Pillayan.

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e-Revenue Licence system down due to technical glitch, ICTA says

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The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) said the electronic Revenue Licence system (eRL 2.0) is currently unavailable due to a critical technical infrastructure issue.

According to the ICTA, the disruption began on July 3, 2025, and has made vehicle revenue licence issuing services inaccessible.

The unavailability is expected to continue until July 9, 2025.

The ICTA expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the public and assured that technical teams are working urgently to resolve the issue.

The agency also said that further updates will be shared as work progresses, with an official notice to be issued once services are restored.

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Three injured in Kosgama shooting, including 12-year-old girl

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Three people, including a 12-year-old girl, were injured in a shooting incident at Suduwella, Kosgama, early this morning (6), police said.

They said the victims were travelling in a three-wheeler when two individuals on a motorcycle opened fire using a pistol-type weapon.

The injured include a 30-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter, both residents of Avissawella, as well as a 44-year-old man.

All three have been admitted to Avissawella Hospital for treatment.

Police said the motive for the attack and the identities of the suspects have not yet been established.

Kosgama Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.

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