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IGP controversy: Bar Association condemns government stance
View(s):The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) strongly condemned what they called efforts of the government to subvert the course of justice in relation to the interim orders given by the Supreme Court in the cases relating to the appointment of the Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon.
“The claim that the Supreme Court does not have power to call into question appointments made by the President which are approved by the Constitutional Council is, in the view of the BASL, totally untenable,” said a statement issued by Secretary of BASL, Chathura A Galhena on the Court’s interim order issued against Mr Tennakoon.
Earlier this week, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court heard all parties including the Attorney General and counsel for Mr Tennakoon, and delivered its order granting leave to proceed in the cases against him. The Court also issued an interim order restraining Mr Tennakoon from exercising the duties, functions and powers of IGP until the final determination of the applications.
The cases had been fixed for hearing on November 11, with the consent of all parties including the Attorney General and all counsel, BASL observed.
Indicating that the decisions of the Constitutional Council are clearly amenable to the Fundamental Rights Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as per Article 41J of the Constitution, the body of legal fraternity said that it is equally clear that following the 19th Amendment to the Constitution the exercise of powers by the President, except his power to declare war and peace, are subject to the Fundamental Rights Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
It is in the exercise of the said powers that the Supreme Court has previously quashed the grant of pardons by the President, quashed the dissolution of Parliament and held against the President who was in office during the Easter Sunday attacks, the BASL statement said.
BASL reiterated that the decisions of the Supreme Court cannot be overruled by any other forum; neither the Prime Minister nor the Speaker have any authority to override the decisions of the Courts.
“It is essential for the Rule of Law and the independence of the judiciary that the executive and legislature respect the judgments of the courts of the land. Failure to honour the decisions of the courts of the land by the Government will result in a loss of public confidence in the administration of justice and will seriously imperil democracy,” the statement read.
BASL also said it express its fullest confidence in the judiciary of Sri Lanka including the Supreme Court, and will stand by the judiciary in order to ensure that its integrity is protected at this critical hour.
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