Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva has remarked that he will make a personal appearance before the Supreme Court to request its judges to cut themselves off from the shackles of President Rajapaksa.

Silva

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Silva has stated that he will be personally appearing before the SC to present his submission against the President’s right to contest for a third term where he would initially inform the Court that it is ‘not a creature of President Rajapaksa’.

“We have to tell the judges please cut yourself off from the shackles of President Rajapaksa. If you give a ruling in that perspective, President Rajapaksa is out. If you believe that President Rajapaksa is going to be there then only will a problem arise. We have to create a situation where we can challenge him,” he has stated.

Silva who in a recent interview with the Sunday Lankadeepa voiced his controversial views on the legal inhibitions that President Rajapaksa would face if he decides to contest for a third term despite the hasty implementation of the 18th amendment, had described 18A in the interview with DM as a ‘dishonest amendment’.

He has gone on to state that it was an amendment made solely to entrench President Rajapaksa in power and resulted in a violation of the balancing of authority where pre-18A, the President was not eligible to independently appoint SC judges, the Chief Justice, Court of Appeal judges, Attorney General, Auditor General, Inspector General of Police, the Secretary General of Parliament as well as appointments of the Election Commission, Public Service Commissions, Judicial Service Commission and Finance Commission etc.

He has blamed 18A for the present plight in the country while pointing out the only party it has served well is President Rajapaksa.

Meanwhile, the former Chief Justice has stated that ‘timed elections’ are also a downside in the present presidential system of government that the masses need to be aware of. He has pointed out that from the former President J. R. Jayawardene who amended the Constitution in 1982 by the third amendment, four years since his election and timed elections, all the other presidents have been manipulating the clause and have succeeded in achieving the desired results.

“That is why all these Presidents cannot be defeated when they are in office. . . An important thing that our people must do is that they must prevent the use of excessive power whereby politicians can time elections and manipulate election results. By timing elections the people of this country have been deprived of their democratic rights,” he had stated further.