State Minister Sanath Nishantha has been issued summons to appear in Court on October 13, based on a complaint lodged in the Appeal Court accusing him of contempt of court.
The complaint lodged by lawyers Priyalal Sirisena and Vijitha Kumara accusing the State Minister of committing contempt of court at a briefing was taken up before the Appeal Court Bench comprising Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and R. Gurusinghe today (29).
In order to prevent the accused from being penalised, Nishantha has been summoned to appear in Court on October 13 and provide reasoning, the Bench concluded.
Petitioners pointed out that Nishantha is cited as a suspect to a lawsuit filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) before the Fort Magistrate Court in connection with the May 09 assault on Galleface ‘GotaGoGama’ protesters.
Nishantha was granted bail following a remand custody period after his arrest as ordered by the Fort Magistrate, but he criticised the Magistrates for granting Galleface protesters bail addressing a public briefing held at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Office on August 23, the petitioners pointed out, thereby arguing that the respondent has undermined the Judiciary’s dignity and has challenged the law, paving the way for the public to lose confidence with the Judiciary.
MIAP