Interim injunction against UNP leader

Sandasen Marasinghe

Colombo: Colombo District Judge Sisira Ratnayake yesterday issued an interim injunction preventing UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe from suspending 11 UNP Members of Parliament from their memberships of the Working Committee of the UNP who joined the Government and assumed duties as Ministers. The Court issued the order until the end of this case.

The Court issued the enjoining order preventing the suspension of Karu Jayasuriya, G. L. Pieris, Bandula Gunawardana, Rajitha Senaratne, Milinda Moragoda, Gamini Lokuge, Neomal Perera, M. M. Musthafa, Mano Wijeratne, P. Dayaratne and Hemakumara Nanayakkara from the UNP working Committee by means of a letter dated February 7, signed by Wickremesinghe.

The Court observed in the judgement that the petitioners had come before the court seeking relief for their memberships had been suspended without holding a proper inquiry.

The petitioners held that the suspension of their memberships were illegal. The eleven UNP parliamentarians who joined the Government filed eleven separate plaints through Sudath Perera Associates before the District Court citing UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and its General Secretary Tissa Attanayake.

The plaintiffs stated that through a letter dated February 7, 2007 by Ranil Wickremesinghe they were informed that they were suspended from the UNP Working Committee since they joined the UPFA Government as ministers without the approval of the UNP despite the fact that they were appointed as the members of the Working Committee of the UNP for 2007.

President's Counsel Romesh de Silva, Attorneys Harsha Amarasekara, Kanchana Pieris and Sugath Kaldera instructed by Sudath Perera Associates appeared for the plaintiffs.