The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has issued an order preventing former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Minister Basil Rajapaksa from leaving the country until 28th July 2022.
The interim relief was given by the court after the petition filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) and three others against the two politicians was taken up for hearing today.
The TISL said that former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank W.D. Lakshman, former Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and former Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle have also been prevented from travelling overseas without the permission of the Court until the 28th of July.
The case is to be supported for full leave to proceed on the 27th of July, the TISL added.
On the 17th of June, a petition was filed in the public interest calling on the court to restrict the overseas travel of 6 respondents including Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and Former Secretary to the Treasury S.R. Attygala, as interim measures during the pendency of the case.
The petition by TISL, Chandra Jayaratne, Jehan CanagaRetna, and Julian Bolling claims that the respondents named in the petition are directly responsible for the unsustainability of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt, its hard default on foreign loan repayments, and the current state of the economy of Sri Lanka.
The petition calls for the respondents to be held accountable for their illegal, arbitrary, and unreasonable acts or omissions which culminated in the current economic crisis. (NewsWire)