A Supreme Court judge today withdrew from proceedings on the appeal filed by former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen against a verdict relating to the clearing of forest reserves near the Wilpattu sanctuary and subsequent resettlements.
The appeal was taken up before a three‑judge bench comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Sampath Abeykoon, and Gihan Kulatunga.
At the hearing, Justice Nawaz announced that he was stepping down from examining the petition due to personal reasons.
The bench directed that the appeal be called before another panel on September 9.
The case stems from a 2015 writ petition filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice before the Court of Appeal, challenging the clearing of forest land near Wilpattu and resettlement activities allegedly carried out under Bathiudeen’s direction.
The Court of Appeal later held the former Minister responsible and ordered him to bear the costs of reforestation, estimated by the Department of Wildlife Conservation at around Rs. 1.6 billion.
Bathiudeen has appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeal’s ruling was unlawful and seeking its annulment.
Several other Supreme Court judges, Mahinda Samayawardhena, Yasanta Kodagoda, Janak de Silva, and Arjuna Obeyesekere, had previously withdrawn from hearing the petition. (Newswire)