Expulsion cases:

Enjoining Order against UNP extended

Sandasen Marasinghe

Colombo District Judge Sampath Wijeratne extended the enjoining orders issued earlier restraining United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP from suspending the party membership of Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and Deputy Fisheries Minister Neomal Perera from the UNP.

The orders were extended till August 26.

The Court also ordered the parties to file objections and answers on or before August 26.

The orders also restrained the UNP and its General Secretary Tissa Attanayake from taking action to suspend the three Ministers from sitting in Parliament by way of informing the Secretary General of the Parliament that their membership from the UNP were suspended.

The Court issued the orders earlier after Ministers filed three separate plaints before the Court alleging that the defendants of this plaint had no right to take a decision to suspend their party membership from the UNP as informed to them.

The plaintiffs cited the UNP, its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, its General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and 89 others as the defendants.

The three plaintiffs submitted that they contested at the general election under the UNP banner but later joined the Government and still they remained to be members of the UNP.

The plaintiff stated that the UNP alleged that Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene, Rohitha Bogollagama and Neomal Perera obtained the posts of Sri Lanka Freedom Party organizer for Hakmana, Kotte and Chilaw respectively and the Central committee of the UNP decided to suspend their party membership from UNP.