The Free Lawyers Organization has called for an investigation into remarks made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake about judicial decisions during a May Day rally, in a letter addressed to the Chief Justice.
The organization alleged that the President made a prejudicial comment regarding a verdict yet to be delivered in an ongoing court case, warning that such remarks could be seen as interfering with matters currently before the judiciary. It said the comments went beyond a general observation on legal processes, noting that they included references to specific dates and timelines tied to the pending case. Free Lawyers spokesperson Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon told The Island that the letter — written by Maithri Gunaratne PC and addressed to both Chief Justice Surasena and Bar Association President Rajeev Amarasuriya — flagged the President’s reference to a verdict due on May 25 in a case heard on April 30, and asked the CJ to inquire whether political pressure had been brought on the relevant judge.
The letter follows growing public concern about the implications of the President’s remarks for judicial independence. The Free Lawyers — the same group that submitted 22 questions to the President on the Treasury cyber heist — is now opening a second accountability track focused on executive comments about live court cases.
Tennakoon told The Island that during the May Day address Dissanayake referred to 15 cases that were to be taken up this month, while Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake named close to ten sitting and former lawmakers slated to be summoned from May. He said the NPP appeared to have used May Day to counter growing accusations over the Colombo port container controversy, the coal procurement scandal, the Rs. 13.2 billion NDB fraud and the theft of USD 2.5 million from the Treasury and USD 625,000 from the Sri Lanka Postal Service.
The challenge comes as several major proceedings are active simultaneously: the Cabraal Greek Bond Trial-at-Bar opened May 3; the Ekneligoda permanent Trial-at-Bar was constituted the same day; former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been summoned by CIABOC over the Airbus deal for May 12; and Trial-at-Bar proceedings against former central bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal are scheduled to start later this year.
The Free Lawyers’ complaint adds to criticism from the National Freedom Front, whose leader Wimal Weerawansa condemned the May Day rally remarks as politicising the judiciary. Sarvajana Balaya became the third opposition voice to weigh in on Monday, with party General Secretary Attorney-at-Law Ranjan Seneviratne calling the relevant remarks “shameless, provocative, and cannot be constitutionally justified” and alleging “a deliberate attempt to bring the judiciary under the control of the Executive.” The party said the issue went beyond political commentary and amounted to an attack on democracy itself, warning that the justice system, “built over generations, cannot easily be restored once it is undermined.”
Sources: Ada Derana — Free Lawyers letter; Ada Derana — Sarvajana Balaya statement; The Island — May 25 verdict.
