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Justice Minister to act on unconstitutional removal of Mohan Peiris as CJ

05 Apr, 2021

Justice Minister Ali Sabry says he is to take appropriate measures after consulting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on the “unconstitutional” removal of Chief Justice Mohan Peiris in 2015.

Responding to a question raised in Parliament today, Ali Sabry said that a Chief Justice can be removed only after obtaining the majority support of Parliament.

He said that a Chief Justice can also be removed only if there is evidence to back any allegations of misbehaviour or on the grounds of incapacity.

Justice Minister Ali Sabry said that former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake had been removed from her post after following the Standing Orders of Parliament.

He said that while Bandaranayake’s removal was challenged in court, the court had ruled that the removal was in line with the Constitution.

The Justice Minister said that?Mohan Peiris was later appointed to the post by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Mohan Peiris was, however, removed from his post in January 2015 by then President Maithripala Sirisena.

Ali Sabry said that the President cannot remove the Chief Justice without the approval of Parliament and so the move was unconstitutional. (Colombo Gazette)

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