The Supreme Court has unanimously decided today (17) that the method adopted to grant presidential pardon to former Member of Parliament Mr. Duminda Silva is against the law.
Accordingly, it is reported that the Supreme Court has ordered the Commissioner General of Prisons to take steps to implement the sentence imposed on the petitioner Mr. Duminda Silva.
The court pronounced this decision after hearing the petitions filed by Sumana Premachandra, the wife of the late Mr. Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, daughter Hirunika Premachandra and lawyer Ghazali Hussain, a former commissioner of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, challenging the legality of the presidential pardon to Duminda Silva. .
Supreme Court Justice Prithi Padman Surasena has given this decision with the concurrence of Judges Gamini Amarasekara and Arjuna Obeysekera.
In 2016, Duminda Silva was convicted by the High Court along with four others for the murder of Bharatha Laxman Premachandra in 2011.
Former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa proceeded to pardon only Duminda Silva.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court has rendered a decision invalidating the presidential pardon granted to Duminda Silva.
