The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka today (Jan 17) quashed the special Presidential Pardon granted to former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva.
The court also directed the Commissioner of Prisons to implement the conviction and sentence against Duminda Silva.
The decision was announced when the judgment in the Fundamental Rights cases filed against Duminda Silva’s Presidential Pardon was delivered today.
The relevant petitions were filed by Sumana and Hirunika Premachandra, the wife and daughter of the late MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, and Ghazali Hussain, former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL).
The Colombo High Court imprisoned Silva for life in 2016, over the murder of former MP Bharatha Lakshman 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.
Following his release, former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was appointed as the Chairman of the National Housing Development Authority.
However, the former MP was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in May 2022 while receiving treatment at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital, after the Supreme Court granted leave to proceed with the case against him.
Duminda Silva was arrested by the CID as the Supreme Court had suspended the special Presidential Pardon granted to him.
The court ruled that the former President had failed to follow proper legal procedures in granting the special Presidential Pardon. (NewsWire)