The Supreme Court today granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed pertaining to two separate high-profile cases in Sri Lanka.
The court has granted leave to proceed with the FR petition filed challenging former President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to grant a Presidential Pardon to Royal Park murder convict Jude Shramantha Jayamaha.
Jude Shramantha Jayamaha was sentenced to death for the murder of Yvonne Jonsson at the Royal Park Condominium complex in Rajagiriya in 2005. He was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2012 but was later convicted of murder by the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court thereafter sentenced him to death over the Royal Park murder incident. Former President Maithripala Sirisena later granted him a presidential pardon in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also fixed for argument the three FR petitions filed challenging the legality of the Presidential Pardon granted to former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva.
The Supreme Court fixed the petitions to be taken up for argument on 17 November.
The Colombo High Court imprisoned Silva for life in 2016, over the murder of former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, the father of former MP Hirunika Premachandra.
The Presidential Commission appointed to investigate incidents of political victimization had recommended the release of Silva after which former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had granted a special presidential pardon in June 2021.
In May 2022, the Supreme Court issued an Interim Order directing the CID to place Duminda Silva under the custody of prisons, while it also issued an Interim Order impounding Silva’s passport. (NewsWire)