The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday (2) handed over a letter to the Chief Justice (CJ), President’s Counsel (PC) Jayantha Jayasuriya requesting him to look into the resignation of Mullaitivu District Judge T. Saravanarajah.
Speaking to the media after an audience with the CJ, BASL President, attorney-at-law Kaushalya Nawaratna said that it is important to launch an immediate investigation into the incident since this event will erode the people’s trust and confidence over the judicial system of this country. He also said that he strongly believes that all judicial officers must be provided with a healthy atmosphere to perform their duties independently and that it is the responsibility of the law enforcement authorities to create such an environment. “As soon as we came across this incident, we summoned the BASL Executive Committee to discuss our future actions on this matter. Accordingly, we had an audience with CJ Jayasuriya PC today (2) and handed over a letter requesting him to take necessary actions in this regard. Apart from that, we have already written to the Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and the Inspector General of Police Chandana D. Wickramaratne, requesting them to launch an investigation into the matter,” he said. Nawaratna also added that the BASL will closely monitor the actions taken by the law enforcement authorities regarding this incident and said that this incident must not be neglected, considering it as an isolated event, but instead, has to be looked at very seriously, since it is a deadly attack on the independence of the Judiciary.
When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday, the High Court Judges Association General Secretary and Judge Sujeewa Nishshanka said that while they are not capable of commenting on this matter to the media without the permission of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), a media statement in this regard will be issued very soon.
Meanwhile, Alles has ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to launch a comprehensive investigation into the events that led to the resignation of Saravanarajah and his departure from the country.
On 23 September, Saravanarajah submitted his resignation from all judicial positions to the Secretary of the JSC, attributing his resignation to the recent death threats received by him following certain verdicts he had delivered pertaining to various controversial and sensitive cases. Saravanarajah is believed to have flown overseas after having submitted his letter of resignation.
Several attempts made to contact Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC, the Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake and the JSC proved futile.