8 October, 2024

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The Hidden Dynasty In The Justice System: Set A Former Chief Justice To Catch A Chief Justice

By Colombo Telegraph

The Rajapakse regime has decided to embark on an assault on the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, the Colombo Telegraph reliably understands. The regime is unhappy with her for the many recent judgements of the Supreme Court which have gone against the regime, notably the decision on the Divineguma Bill. Also, the Chief Justice and the other two members of the Judicial Service Commission refused to meet the President when they were summoned by him. It is said that Rajapakse wanted to discuss the issue of interdiction of District Judge Aravinda Perera, a close friend of Namal Rajapakse. Thereafter, the Commission issued a public statement to say that it was been pressurized. This is the first time in Sri Lanka’s judicial history that such a statement has been issued by the Judicial Service Commission.

Shirani, Asoka , Palitha and Jagath

According to government sources, the regime is being advised by Asoka De Silva, former Chief Justice, who is a Legal Advisor to the President- an unprecedented appointment in the judicial history of Sri Lanka. Asoka De Silva was a junior judge of the Appeals Court when Shirani Bandaranayake was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1997. Although she was the most senior judge in the Supreme Court when Chief Justice Sarath Silva retired, she made it known that she was prepared to give way to Asoka De Silva as he was less than 2 years away from the retirement age. Accordingly, he was appointed Chief Justice. However, later he clashed with her in the Judicial Service Commission and became very antagonistic to her. It is said that most senior judges of the Supreme Court were disappointed that Asoka De Silva made his younger brother the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission.

As the first step in the attack on the Chief Justice, her husband Pradeep Kariyawasam is to be indicted by the Commission on Bribery and Corruption for his alleged role in the highly controversial purchase of a 13% stake of The Finance Company by the National Savings Bank of which he was Chairman, Colombo Telegraph understands. The shares were sold by Raynor Silva, CEO of ABC Broadcasting Corporation, and the Perera brothers Nandadeva and Yogendra. Raynor Silva is the brother of the controversial MP Duminda Silva, a pet of the Rajapakse regime and the prime suspect in the Bharatha Premachandra murder.

Asoka De Silva’s daughter Kanishka is married to Jagath Balapatabendi’s son, Isuru.

Interestingly, the Chairman of the Bribery Commission is former Supreme Court judge Jagath Balapatabendi who is closely related to Asoka De Silva. Asoka De Silva’s daughter Kanishka is married to Jagath Balapatabendi’s son, Isuru. President Rajapakse did a big favour to De Silva and Balapatabendi by appointing Isuru as second secretary of the Sri Lankan embassy in the Netherlands. This was at a time when Kanishka was studying for her LL.M. degree in international law at Leiden University in The Hague. Asoka De Silva was also a judge of the International Tribunal for Rwanda at that time and was given permission by President Rajapakse to continue in that position even after he was appointed Chief Justice. The Rwanda Tribunal held its sittings at The Hague and it was so convenient to the families for which they are no doubt ever grateful to President Rajapakse.

Another interesting family connection is that Attorney General Palitha Fernando is married to Asoka De Silva’s sister. It is said that it was Asoka De Silva who engineered the appointment of former Attorney General Eva Wanasundara to the Supreme Court (which was seen in legal circles as a ‘kick upstairs’) and the replacement by Palitha Fernando. If Kariyawasam is indicted the Attorney General’s Department will prosecute him. Palitha Fernando is viewed in legal circles as an honest officer but whether he will be able to withstand Presidential and family pressure is to be seen.

A few weeks back, Sunday Leader claimed that it has seen documentary evidence that Kariyawasam had acted with the concurrence of the National Savings Bank Board and that the Board did in fact discuss the strategic investment in The Finance Company as they felt there were good synergies with Company. However, trade unions in Bank were up in arms against the purchase of The Finance shares and the Government decided to cancel the transaction. Kariyawasam later resigned. Political gossip has it that the shares were purchsed at the instance of a highly placed Central Bank official who was really acting at the behest of the regime which was trying to help Raynor Silva to raise money to pay Duminda Silva’s hospital bills in Singapore.

Several lawyers who spoke to Colombo Telegraph stated that while they deplored interference with the judiciary, Kariyawasam should not have accepted a political appointment in the first place. He was first appointed as Chairman of Sri Lanka Insurance and later as Chairman of the National Savings Bank. Never in the history of Sri Lanka’s judiciary had a spouse of a judge of a superior Court accepted a political appointment, they stated. “Balloth ekka nidagaththama, makkoth ekka negitinna wenawa” (“when you sleep with dogs, you have to get up with fleas”) a former judicial high up stated.

Latest comments

  • 0
    1

    Nice article. Lots of facts.

    • 0
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      Corrupt Family business is thriving in the land of corrupt Lotus Eaters!
      Regime change is the ONLY solution to the curse that is the Rajapassa family

      • 0
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        I am in total agreement with you. The Rajapaksa regime and the institutions of the state are rotten to the core and should be cleansed without delay. To effect this regime change is the answer. Regime change NOW!

  • 0
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    Asoka De Silva is an old boy of St. Anthonys Kandy and a devout Catholic I was informed by a class mate of his. None of these buggers are pious, they even cheat God in their peruit of filthy lucre. They are absolute ‘Sereppu Supas’ a plenty found in the system and a disgrace to the Professional body. The Scum in society(Paddo) whether qualified now, can be identified from their actions.

    • 0
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      Well said !!!

  • 1
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    People expect judiciary to be absolutely upright and independent and to be the watchdog of the people since it exercise judicial power of the people. Question is whether the people of Sri Lanka have such a bold judiciary, like many other close neighbor countries, including Pakistan.People should not forget what made MR to appoint Asoka De Silva as CJ over Shirani Bandaranayake. He clearly had a mission to perform for MR, who never asked for a mandate from the people for the 3rd term, when contested for the office of the President for the second time.

    The constitutional amendment to facilitate MR for a third term was simply approved by a bench headed by Asoka De Silva and for the ‘job well done’ he was duly rewarded by MR, appointing him as one of his legal advisers. If he respect and honor the sovereignty of the people he should have rejected the constitutional amendment and direct MR to go before people and ask for a clear mandate for a third term, which he never did. Instead he simply betray the judicial power of the people for private gain.This is the kind of rubbish judiciary, the people of Sri Lanka have to rely upon.

    However, this does not mean all judges of the Supreme Court are rouges, as there are very few who are committed to uphold the peoples’ sovereignty.

  • 0
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    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
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  • 0
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    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
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  • 0
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    Where else can this happen but only in Sri Lanka.This reminds one of the popular songs by Nihal Silva and Nihal Perera that farcically epitomized the Sri Lankan polity since banned due to the displeasure of the well and mighty.The political legal skunks disgrace the judiciary that was once the jewel of the constitution.

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      Pointing a finger at an individual or a group is the easiest for most of us. However, many a guy has looked the other way when things could have been contained & controlled for the benefit of the public.Still there is plenty of room for people to look at this gigantic issue & to come out with a simple solution within/without the regime.As big issues may dissolve with change of attitudes & with a common sense approach which must touch the common man, thus every step has to be addressed in a simple & in common manner.

  • 0
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    “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall – think of it, always.”

    ~Mahatma Gandhi~

    a partial list of fallen dictators:

    Muammar Gaddafi
    Hosni Mubarak
    Saddam Hussein
    Pol Pot
    Idi Amin
    Mobutu Sese Seko
    Nicolae Ceausescu
    Slobodan Milosevic
    Jean-Claude Duvalier
    Ferdinand Marcos
    Fulgencio Batista
    Antonio Salazar
    Alfredo Stroessner
    Benito Mussolini
    Adolf Hitler
    Prabahakaran

    Mahinda Rajapaksa is having his time in the sun for the moment, but one day he too will fall…and there will be others. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

  • 0
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    See how Rajapaksa recruits people to do his dirty work. Political patronage has become an art form and he has fine tuned it to suit all his needs. The so called saviour of the sinhala race has become the destroyer of the fabric of the Sri lankan society, state and its institutions. What a tragedy!

  • 0
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    The whole article with so much details was summed up so beautifully by that one proverb at the end.
    “Balloth ekka nithagaththaama makkoth ekka nagitinna wenawaa”
    I have never heard a better one to describe what goes on in Sri Lanka.

  • 0
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    What a sad state of affairs.

  • 0
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    We always had corruption, had been getting worse, now have mafia.

    Earlier we blamed the Sudhas, then the rich, then Tamils, Tigers and Muslims…

  • 0
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    Finding jobs for the husband of the chief justice has not paid off for the uneducated uncultured ones?

  • 0
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    Thanks for enlightening an already enlightened readership.Why dictators thrive in a country is the falsehood disseminated through pro state media to a gullible mass of people.The enlightening articles are written for the English speaking public and not for the Sinhala and tamil polity.The English speaking elite cannot be easily mobilised for Regim changes.

  • 0
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    Good article with some detail… Keep up the good work and stay in tune to help the country and expose the criminality of those in power.

  • 0
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    Thanks to Colombo telgraphy give hidden information to the public of so-called appoinments of higher position of Sri Lankan courts and Judges.

  • 0
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    One must not fault Vimukthi Kumaratunga-Bandaranaike for declaring a few months ago he was ashamed to be a Sri Lankan. When bizarre and
    damning “you sctratch my back and I yours” stench-infected details are
    laboriously fished out by an alert and responsible Press from the higher corridors of the judiciary every thinking citizen of the country has reason to be shamed about.

    Senguttuvan

  • 0
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    No one seems interested in asking why the chief justice without declining in the first place,the invitation to a meeting with the president asked for a written invitation. Also is it proper or ethical for her to be in the CJ’s position when her husband is implicated in a fraud.

    • 0
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      NAK,it is obvious no.IF she did not get it in writing,then MR would have said he had not asked for them to come but merely wanted to know through a phone call on certain matters etc etc etc,the normal bullshit.Even now he is bullshitting that he wanted them to come to discuss budgetary allocations etc.Must be thinking srilankans are idiots.So the correct thing was to get his request in writing and then submit to the JSC for its response,because you are dealing with slippery eels here.Also it has to be made official in writing to submit to the JSC for their response as it is unconstitutional because of the seperation of powers between the executive and the judiciary stipulated in our constitution.Surely NAK, you are not a baby to ask such stupid questions.

  • 0
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    wonder of Asia. A country with no law and order.

  • 0
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    The initial connection to Shirani was GL who has now put an about turn.
    The religious connection to Asoka S, Palitha F, Nivard C, Raynor and Duminda S is Shiranthini R. It has nothing to do with the religion but making use of the religion to establish the Mafia. The other religious connections strengthen the quadruple R family, Budhdhist mafia including some so called priests!!
    Subha Anagathayak to all those who voted and will vote in the future

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    Because the dogs and bitches are polygamous and the dynasties of the executive, legislature and judiciary are intermingled, very soon there will be only one arm of the government left – which one? At the rate things are moving no one will dare to question. Only hope lies in that fleas can exterminate the dogs.

  • 0
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    When you analyze the MR’s strategies as President so far, isn’t it reasonable to come to the following conclusion ?

    MR is the only President who is fearless (bayanethi)and shameless (legganethi)

    He won the LTTE war since he was fearless
    He masterminds this bogus impeachment since he is SHAMELESS

    JR,PREMADASA,DB,CHANDRIKA – all did not have both

    MR – LEGGA BAYA NETHI JANADHIPATHI

    • 0
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      Kumar,

      You say JR,Premadasa,DB, Chandrica – all did not have both
      You say MR-LEGGA BAYA NETHI JANADHIPATHI……

      You Know what we call them P…I…G….S….

      Both act same. Pissu Isolated Gon Satha. FYI.

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