Anura Priyadarshana appointed Chairman of PSC on CJ

Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa was appointed the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee for the impeachment of the Chief Justice.

The impeachment motion against the Chief Justice was handed over to the Speaker by MPs Arundika Fernando, L. Alagiyawanna and Shanth Bandara with the signatures of 117 MPs on November 1.

Eleven members have been appointed for the Parliamentary Select Committee which will probe the allegations contained in the impeachment motion brought against the Chief Justice.

Anura Yapa, Nimal Siripala De Silva, Susil Premajayantha, R. Senaratne, Wimal Weerawansa, Dilan Perera and Neomal Perera were appointed were appointed from the UPFA.

The United National Party (UNP) nominated MPs John Amaratunga and Lakshman Kiriella for the Parliamentary Select Committee while the Tamil National Alliance named MP R. Sampanthan as its sole representative.

MP Vijitha Herath was nominated by the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) as its representative.

The 14 brought against the Chief Justice include the purchasing of property, “by paying a sum of Rs 19,362,500 in cash, the manner in which such sum of money was earned had not been disclosed,” to real-estate companies and not declaring in the annual declaration of assets and liabilities, the details of approximately Rs. 34 million in foreign currency deposited at a branch of NDB Bank.

She is also charged of not declaring details of more than twenty bank accounts maintained in various banks including nine accounts in the aforesaid branch of NDB Bank.

The motion also notes that Mr. Pradeep Kariyawasam, the lawful husband of Mrs. Bandaranayake, is a suspect in relation to legal action initiated at the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo in connection with the offences regarding acts of bribery and/or corruption.

The order paper says that Bandaranayake is unfit to remain chief justice because she has the power to transfer or take disciplinary action against judges or examine case documents when her husband, a former state bank chairman is on trial for corruption.

She is also accused of misusing her position to harass other judges.