Premalal Jayasekara, who was sentenced to death and is imprisoned, took oaths as a Member of Parliament last afternoon (8) amidst strong objection from the Opposition.
The Parliament, chaired by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, convened at 1 p.m. yesterday.
Jayasekara, escorted by prison officials, arrived at the Parliament Complex at around 11.30 a.m. to attend yesterday’s parliamentary sitting.
On 31 July, Premalal Jayasekara, alias “Choka Malli”, was sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court over a murder committed in 2015.
However, he managed to secure the second position in the Ratnapura District preferential votes list in the 2020 general election, contesting through the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
Thereby, the Speaker of the Parliament instructed the Commissioner General of Prisons to bring Jayasekara, who is currently imprisoned, to Parliament on 8 September.
As prison rules and regulations have not made provisions regarding an inmate on the death row acting as a public representative, the Commissioner General of Prisons had inquired on the matter from the Ministry of Justice, which in turn made an inquiry from the Attorney General (AG).
Subsequently, the AG informed that Jayasekara was not eligible to act as a Member of Parliament under Articles 89 (d) and 91 (1) (a) of the Constitution.
The writ application was then filed before the Court of Appeal requesting to grant Jayasekera permission to attend parliamentary sessions.
The Commissioner General of Prisons, the Welikada Prison Superintendent, and the Secretary General of Parliament were cited as the respondents of this writ application.
On Monday (7), Jayasekara was allowed to attend parliamentary sittings as per an interim order issued by the Court of Appeal on the prison authorities.Premalal Jayasekara sworn in amidst protest
09 Sep 2020
Premalal Jayasekara sworn in amidst protest
09 Sep 2020
Premalal Jayasekara, who was sentenced to death and is imprisoned, took oaths as a Member of Parliament last afternoon (8) amidst strong objection from the Opposition.
The Parliament, chaired by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, convened at 1 p.m. yesterday.
Jayasekara, escorted by prison officials, arrived at the Parliament Complex at around 11.30 a.m. to attend yesterday’s parliamentary sitting.
On 31 July, Premalal Jayasekara, alias “Choka Malli”, was sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court over a murder committed in 2015.
However, he managed to secure the second position in the Ratnapura District preferential votes list in the 2020 general election, contesting through the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
Thereby, the Speaker of the Parliament instructed the Commissioner General of Prisons to bring Jayasekara, who is currently imprisoned, to Parliament on 8 September.
As prison rules and regulations have not made provisions regarding an inmate on the death row acting as a public representative, the Commissioner General of Prisons had inquired on the matter from the Ministry of Justice, which in turn made an inquiry from the Attorney General (AG).
Subsequently, the AG informed that Jayasekara was not eligible to act as a Member of Parliament under Articles 89 (d) and 91 (1) (a) of the Constitution.
The writ application was then filed before the Court of Appeal requesting to grant Jayasekera permission to attend parliamentary sessions.
The Commissioner General of Prisons, the Welikada Prison Superintendent, and the Secretary General of Parliament were cited as the respondents of this writ application.
On Monday (7), Jayasekara was allowed to attend parliamentary sittings as per an interim order issued by the Court of Appeal on the prison authorities.