brand logo

Ranjan given suspended two-year RI on second contempt charge

08 Jun 2022

BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Supreme Court (SC) has sentenced former MP Ranjan Ramanayake, who is currently serving a four-year term of rigorous imprisonment (RI), to two years of RI, suspended to five years, on the second contempt of court charge against him. The verdict was given yesterday (7) by a bench of three judges, comprising Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare PC, and Justices L.T.B. Dehideniya and Gamini Amarasekara. Although Ramanayake initially pleaded not guilty when the case was first called, he told the court last March that he would plead guilty to the charges, following which the attorneys representing him had requested the court to impose a lenient sentence on him. Announcing the verdict, Justice Aluwihare PC, presiding over the bench of three judges, said that Ramanayake would be sentenced to two years of RI suspended for five years. He said that if Ramanayake is found guilty of any offence within five years from yesterday, the sentence would be effective. Ramanayake was accused of insulting the Judiciary, through comments made during a televised programme, regarding a bench of five judges hearing the fundamental rights petitions filed against then-President Maithripala Sirisena’s move to dissolve Parliament in October 2018. Earlier, the SC, on 12 January 2021, sentenced Ramanayake to a four-year term of RI over the first charge of contempt of court against him. The case was filed by Ven. Magalkande Sudaththa Thera and Air Force Officer (Retd.) R. Sunil Perera in 2017, following remarks made by Ramanayake allegedly insulting the reputation of the Judiciary when commenting to the media. Since then, several quarters including both Government and Opposition politicians have been requesting the President that Ramanayake be pardoned. Among them are the main Parliamentary Opposition (the Samagi Jana Balawegaya), Government MP Geetha Kumarasinghe, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, and several local film actors.  


More News..