SC imposes travel ban on MR,Basil
The Supreme Court yesterday imposed a travel ban against former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, barring them from leaving the country.
The imposed travel ban will be in effect until July 28. At a previous hearing, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, former Finance Ministry Secretary S. Artigala and former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabral made a pledge before the Supreme Court that they will not go abroad until July 15. The motion was taken up before the Supreme Court five-Judge-Bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justices Bhuwaneka Aluwihare, Priyantha Jayawardena, Vijith Malalgoda and L.T.B Dehideniya.
The Court also imposed a travel ban against former Central Bank Governor W.D.Lakshman due to the absentia of a counsel to appear on behalf of him, while the Counsels appeared before the Court on behalf of the other respondents.
This motion was filed in relation to the Fundamental Rights petition that has been filed seeking an order to conduct an investigation against the people responsible for bankrupting the country and the public by following short-sighted economic measures and acting without proper management.
The petition was filed by former Chamber of Commerce Chairman Chandra Jayaratne, swimming champion Julian Bowling, Jehan Kanegaratne and Transparency International Sri Lanka. The Petition has cited the Attorney General on behalf of the President, former Minister of Finance and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, current Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Governors of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Dr. W.D Lakshman, former Ministers of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, Ali Sabry, former Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S.R. Artigala,Bar Association of Ceylon President Saliya Peiris PC and 13 others as the respondents.
The petitioners allege that the country is currently in a state of bankruptcy and the people are in dire straits due to the unwise economic policies and inefficient administration pursued by the respondents.
The petition alleges that this has made it difficult for the people to access essential services such as fuel, electricity, food and medicine. The petition states that due to this situation, Sri Lanka has been listed as a country that cannot repay foreign loans and this has brought more disrepute to the country internationally. The petition points out that the tax concessions granted unnecessarily by the respondents in 2019 were one of the reasons for this economic crisis.
The petitioners also allege that the failure to seek the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the right time during the economic crisis has led to such a crisis in the country. The petition has sought a declaration that the respondents have violated the fundamental human rights of the public. Also, the petitioners request the Supreme Court to issue an order to conduct an immediate investigation into the matters pointed out in this petition.
President’s Counsel Chandaka Jayasundara appeared on the instructions of Upendra Gunasekara for the petitioners.