January 17, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that the presidential pardon granted to former MP Duminda Silva by ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was unlawful. Silva, along with four others, had been convicted in 2016 for the 2011 murder of politician Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.
The High Court had sentenced all five individuals to death, a verdict subsequently upheld by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court. However, following his election victory in 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted a pardon exclusively to Duminda Silva.
The unexpected and controversial pardon prompted three separate fundamental rights petitions challenging its legality, filed by Hirunika Premachandra, Sumana Premachandra, and Former Human Rights Commissioner Ghazali Hussain, PC.
After thorough consideration, the bench, comprised of Justices P. Padman Surasena, Gamini Amarasekera, and Arjuna Obeysekera, unanimously concluded that the pardon process was flawed, rendering it unlawful.
The High Court had sentenced all five individuals to death, a verdict subsequently upheld by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court. However, following his election victory in 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted a pardon exclusively to Duminda Silva.
The unexpected and controversial pardon prompted three separate fundamental rights petitions challenging its legality, filed by Hirunika Premachandra, Sumana Premachandra, and Former Human Rights Commissioner Ghazali Hussain, PC.
After thorough consideration, the bench, comprised of Justices P. Padman Surasena, Gamini Amarasekera, and Arjuna Obeysekera, unanimously concluded that the pardon process was flawed, rendering it unlawful.
