Counsel appearing on behalf of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, sought from Court to dismiss the Fundamental Rights petitions filed seeking an order to conduct an investigation against the people responsible for bankrupting the country and the public.
The petitions were taken up before the Supreme Court Five-Judge-Bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, Priyantha Jayawardena, Vijith Malalgoda and L.T.B Dehideniya.
President’s Counsel Navin Marapana appearing for respondents former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa made lengthy submissions over petitions.
He sought from Court to dismiss the petitions without hearing them, as the facts on which this petition is based do not constitute any kind of violation of fundamental rights. The petitions will be taken up again on September 2.
The petitions were filed by Open University academic Prof. Mahim Mendis, former Chamber of Commerce Chairman Chandra Jayaratne, swimming champion Julian Bolling, Jehan Canegaratne and Transparency International Sri Lanka.
The petitions have cited the Attorney General on behalf of the President, former Minister of Finance and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Governors of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Dr. W.D Lakshman, former Ministers of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, Ali Sabry, Former Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S.R. Artigala, President of the Bar Association of Ceylon Saliya Peiris, PC and 39 others as the respondents.
The petitioners allege that the country is currently in a state of bankruptcy and the people are in dire straits due to the unwise economic policies and inefficient administration pursued by the respondents.
The petitions allege that this has made it difficult for the people to access essential services such as fuel, electricity, food and medicine.
The petitions state that due to this situation, Sri Lanka has been listed as a country that cannot repay foreign loans and this has brought more disrepute to the country internationally.
The petitions point out that the tax concessions granted unnecessarily by the respondents in 2019 were one of the reasons for this economic crisis.
The petitioners also allege that the failure to seek the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the right time during the economic crisis has led to such a crisis in the country.
The petitions have sought a declaration that the respondents have violated the fundamental human rights of the public. Also, the petitioners request the Supreme Court to issue an order to conduct an immediate investigation into the matters pointed out in this petition.
The petitions also sought an order directing the several respondents to appoint a committee under the supervision of the court to compile a report on the financial irregularities and mismanagement of the economy in relation to the specific cases outlined in the petition.
Also, the petitions have requested that the cabinet decisions taken regarding the financial matters, the documents exchanged between the respondents be submitted to court.
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