The Court of Appeal has permitted to withdraw three petitions filed against the late State Minister Sanath Nishantha over contempt of court charges.
The relevant petitions were taken up before the two-member judge bench consisting of Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola today (Feb. 02).
There, the attorneys-at-law who appeared on behalf of the petitioning parties told the court that the petitions are not required to be maintained since the defendant of the case, State Minister Sanath Nishantha has passed away, and therefore, requested permission to withdraw the relevant petitions.
The Appeals Court, which accepted the request allowed the three petitions to be withdrawn.
The petitions had been filed by the Sri Lanka Judicial Officers’ Association, Attorney-at-Law Priyalal Sirisena and Attorney-at-Law Vijitha Kumara, alleging that the late State Minister had tarnished the honour and the image of the judiciary by expressing critical views on the manner in which the magistrates acted in granting bail to the suspects involved in the ‘Aragalaya’ protest movement while speaking during a media conference held at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) headquarters on 23 August 2022.
