The Court of Appeal today rejected GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya’s request to free him from contempt of court charges.
The decision was made by a judge bench comprising Chairman of the Appeal Court L.T.B. Dehideniya and Judge Shiran Gunaratne.
The case was filed by civil society activists Prof. Sarath Wijesuriya and Gamini Viyangoda accusing the Dr. Padeniya of contempt of court for criticizing the verdict of the Court of Appeal regarding the SAITM issue, during a speech made at a public meeting held in Colombo in April.
Raising preliminary objections, the GMOA President’s attorneys stated that the court had power to hear the petition as the Court of Appeal has already made a presumption that their client is guilty.
Therefore they requested that their client be freed from charges of contempt of court, Ada Derana court reporter said.
However, rejecting the request, the Court of Appeal decided to take the petition up for hearing on March 10, 2018.
