The Supreme Court has directed the Attorney General to draft a rule document to show cause why Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake should not be held in contempt.
The directive was made when the two petitions filed against Ramanayake, accusing him of contempt, were taken up today (18) before judge bench comprising Chief Justice Priyasad Dep and Justice Murdu Fernando.
Additional Solicitor General Priyantha Nawana, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, said that the video footage containing the statement made by the Deputy Minister has been reviewed and that it has been agreed that at a glance the statement is in contempt.
Supreme Court tradition dictates that the next course of action is for the Attorney General to submit a draft rule document to show cause why the defendant should not be held in contempt.
Raising objections to that request, President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran, appearing on behalf of the defendant Ranjan Ramanayake, stated that he objects to the drafting of the said rule document by the Attorney General.
The defence attorneys argued that the rule document should be drafted according to the provision of the Civil Procedure Code.
However, the Supreme Court directed the Attorney General to draft the said rule document while the case was postponed until July 30.
