Duminda Silva’s presidential pardon overturned by Supreme Court

The decision by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to pardon former Member of Parliament (MP) R. Duminda Silva, who was found guilty and given the death penalty for the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, was ruled to be unlawful by the Supreme Court today (17).

Accordingly the Commissioner of Prisons was ordered by the Court to carry out Duminda Silva’s conviction and sentence.

The decision was announced during the delivery of the judgment in the Fundamental Rights cases against Duminda Silva's Presidential Pardon.

Sumana and Hirunika Premachandra, wife and daughter of late MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, respectively and former HRCSL Commissioner Ghazali Hussain filed relevant petitions.

In 2016, the Colombo High Court sentenced Duminda Silva to life imprisonment for the murder of former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.

Duminda Silva’s release had been recommended by the Presidential Commission tasked with looking into incidences of political mistreatment, following which, in June 2021, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued him a special presidential pardon.

However, the former President Rajapaksha has failed to adhere to the proper legal procedures in granting the special Presidential Pardon, according to the court ruling.