Lanka''s top court overturns Prez Sirisena''s decision to dissolve parliament

Colombo, November 13

In a major boost to sacked Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling on Tuesday overturned President Maithripala Sirisena’s controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on January 5.

The apex court’s decision deepened the political crisis in the island nation after President Sirisena fired his coalition Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on October 26 and installed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier.

A three-member apex court Bench, including Chief Justice Nalin Perera, delivered its verdict after two days of deliberations on as many as 13 petitions against and five for Sirisena’s November 9 decision to dissolve Parliament.

The court said Sirisena’s dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all the petitions filed on the President’s decision next month before giving a final ruling.

The Supreme Court ruling means Parliament can be convened and a floor test can be taken to determine whether the President-appointed Prime Minister Rajapaksa has a majority in the 225-member Parliament.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament after it became clear that he lacked support from lawmakers to instal Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister following his sacking of Wickremesinghe.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament last week, almost 20 months before its term was to end, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Rajapaksa, 72, who ruled Lanka for nearly a decade from 2005, was unexpectedly defeated by his deputy Sirisena in the presidential election held in January 2015. — PTI