UPDATE (12:11 pm): The Supreme Court has rejected the motion for a five-judge panel requested by the lawyers of Ranil Wickremesinghe to hear the appeal of Mahinda Rajapaksa on holding the Prime Minister’s Office.

Accordingly, the hearing of the appeal commenced with a three-judge panel at the Supreme Court.

The motion requesting a five-member judge panel to hear the appeal of Mahinda Rajapaksa on holding premiership is currently being taken up for consideration at the Supreme Court.  

A lawyer on behalf of Ranil Wickremesinghe has filed a motion before the Supreme Court requesting a five-member judge panel for the hearing of the appeal of Mahinda Rajapaksa on holding the Prime Minister’s Office.

The motion has stated that as the Appeal is constitutionally significant, the matter should be heard before a five-judge panel.

The appeal filed against the interim order issued by the Court of Appeal restraining Mahinda Rajapaksa from holding office of Prime Minister and his Cabinet from functioning, is fixed for support on December 14 by the Supreme Court.

On December 3, the Court of Appeal issued an interim order restraining Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning until the hearing of the Writ of Quo Warranto filed against them is concluded.

However, the following day an appeal was filed with the Supreme Court against the interim order stating that the interim order is unconstitutional and that the Court of Appeal has no authority to issue such orders. The appeal was filed by attorneys on behalf of Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

The 122 MPs who had signed the Writ of Quo Warranto petition, against Mahinda Rajapaksa holding office as Prime Minister, have been named as respondents in the appeal.