A contempt of court application has been filed before the Court of Appeal against former President Maithripala Sirisena for allegedly disregarding an order made by the Colombo District Court regarding the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) chairmanship.
SLFP activist Montague Sarathchandra filed the application, seeking punitive action against Sirisena for allegedly breaching the interim injunction imposed by the Colombo District Court on April 24, 2024. This injunction barred Sirisena from acting as the chairman of the SLFP.
According to the petitioner, despite the interim injunction, Sirisena continued to represent himself as the Chairman of the SLFP until May 12, 2024. On that date, Sirisena purportedly resigned from the position, as indicated in a letter addressed to Deputy Secretary of the SLFP, Sarath Ekanayake. In the letter, Sirisena claimed to have fulfilled the duties of the chairman until his resignation.
The petitioner contends that Sirisena's actions have shown disrespect or disregard for the authority of the District Court and the administration of justice.
The matter was brought before a two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Shashi Mahendran. The petitioner was directed to serve notice on the respondent party during the proceedings.
Senior Counsel Shantha Jayawardena, instructed by Dinesh de Silva, appeared on behalf of the petitioner during the hearing.
