Quo Warranto petition against Mahinda postponed to January

The Court has decided to hear the Writ of Quo Warranto on Mahinda Rajapaksa holding office as the Prime Minister on the 16th, 7th and 18th of January, 2019.

This was decided when the case was taken up today (12), stated Ada Derana reporter.

The Writ of Quo Warranto was filed by 122 Members of Parliament against Rajapaksa and his government’s continuation in office after two no-confidence motions had been passed against it.

The application was also taken up for consideration on November 30 while Rajapaksa’s lawyers had requested the Appeals Court to dismiss the the Writ of Quo Warranto on that day.

Parliamentarians who filed the Quo Warranto petition say that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has no parliamentary majority and the speaker too has confirmed this.

As a result, the petitioners claim that Mahinda Rajapaksa is not legally entitled to hold office of Prime Minister under to the 13th Amendment of the Constitution.

Hence, the petitioners have appealed to the Court of Appeal to nullify the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister as per the provisions of the Constitution. The petitioners have named Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and 49 others as respondents of the case.

On 3rd December, the Court of Appeal today issued an interim injunction order restraining Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning until the hearing of the Writ of Quo Warranto filed against them holding office is concluded.