CA order today on interim order
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s writ petition
The Court of Appeal yesterday reserved for today its order on issuing notices on the respondents and whether to grant an interim order on the writ petition filed by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Bench comprised Justices L.T.B. Dehideniya (President/ca) and Shiran Gooneratne.
Mr. Rajapaksa in his application filed last Friday cited IGP Pujith Jayasundara, CID Director Shani Abeysekera, FCID DIG Ravi Waidyalankara, ASP Kamal Paliakara and the Attorney General as respondents.
Romesh de Silva PC with Ali Sabri PC, Sugath Caldera and Ruwantha Cooray instructed by Sanath Wijewardane appeared for the petitioner.
The petitioner is seeking Court to quash the report filed under Offences against the Public Property Act.
He is also seeking Court to prevent the respondents from proceeding with the report filed against him, who is a retired officer of the Sri Lanka Army.
The petitioner states that he is the 5th of nine siblings in his family and hails from a well-known political family. His father the late D.A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician in Sri Lanka.
He said at the time of holding the office of Defence Secretary and Urban Development he managed to transform the City of Colombo to great heights by making the city a cleaner and safer place for its users and its occupants.
He said at the January 2015 presidential election President Maithripala Sirisena was elected to the presidency and that pressure from various coalition partners increased building a media uproar seeking to arrest members of the Rajapaksa family including close allies and that several influential persons in the government were desirous of arresting him as a part of a political vendetta.
The petitioner said the false charges that he was responsible for a floating armoury which was docked at the Galle harbour with a large consignment of weapons and ammunition and allegations of corruption and irregularities in the purchase of MIG 27 in 2006 and the share manipulation at Lanka Hospitals Ltd and the leasing of aircraft as chairman of Mihin Lanka.
He claims these allegations to be baseless and says thee is a calculated effort by the ruling coalition and its political partners to engage in a witch hunt against him and to coerce and pressurise the law enforcing agencies to act against him, irrespective of the merits.
He is also seeking Court to prevent the respondents from proceeding with the report filed against him, who is a retired officer of the Sri Lanka Army