By BHARATHA
MALLAWARACHI Associated Press
COLOMBO, Sri
Lanka January 7, 2013 (AP)
A Sri Lankan appeals
court on Monday quashed a guilty verdict reached by lawmakers against the
country's chief justice in a much-criticized impeachment hearing, a move that
could intensify a monthslong dispute between Parliament and the judiciary.
A parliamentary
committee last month found Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake guilty of
possession of unexplained wealth and misuse of power and declared her unfit for
office. Bandaranayake denied the allegations and challenged the committee's
verdict, saying she had not been given a fair hearing.
The ruling by three
appeals court judges declared the committee's hearing unlawful and its verdict
null, and deemed any further action on the impeachment, including a debate and
vote, illegal.
The appeals court's
decision followed a Supreme Court ruling last week that said the parliamentary
committee did not have the authority to investigate Bandaranayake. Parliament
was to start a two-day debate on the committee's verdict on Wednesday, followed
by a vote on whether to impeach the chief justice.
The impeachment move
was heavily criticized by lawyers, judges and opposition politicians who saw it
as the culmination of a long dispute between the judiciary and Parliament,
which is effectively controlled by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The critics
viewed the proceeding as an effort to undermine judicial independence and
concentrate more powers with the president.
With Rajapaksa's
ruling party controlling more than two-thirds of Parliament's 225 seats, it was
expected to easily win an impeachment vote.
There was no
immediate comment from the government. But any move to disregard Monday's court
order and impeach Bandaranayake could plunge the country's governance into
chaos because the courts would probably not accept any replacement for the
chief justice.
The Bar Association
of Sri Lanka has said it would reject any replacement if Bandaranayake is
ejected without a fair trial.
Authorities had
previously disregarded a Supreme Court request to delay the impeachment hearing
until it heard a petition by Bandaranayake asking the court to declare the
parliamentary committee illegal.
Speaker Chamal
Rajapaksa, a brother of the president, has said that Parliament is not bound by
any court order. He is expected to soon announce Parliament's next move.
President Rajapaksa
in 2011 appointed Bandaranayake as the country's first female chief justice.
But she began to be heavily criticized after she ruled that a proposed law
giving vast financial powers to the economic development minister, another
brother of the president, was unconstitutional.
The dispute between
the administration and the judiciary began after a minister allegedly
threatened a judge to alter a decision and later led a mob to attack a court
house with stones.
Later a judge who is
responsible for transfers and disciplinary action in the judiciary was
attacked.
Meanwhile, thousands
of people protested in Colombo on Monday demanding that the government to
withdraw the impeachment bid, ensure judicial independence and respect court
orders.
