Sri Lanka: Court issues interim order against Rajapaksa

A Sri Lankan court here on Monday issued an interim order barring the functioning of the respondents as Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and state ministers, reported the Daily Mirror.

The order was issued against his Cabinet of ministers, including deputy ministers and state ministers, apart from the former Sri Lankan

President. The respondents were asked to appear in the court on December 12.

On November 23, a petition challenging Rajapaksa's premiership was filed in a Sri Lankan court signed by 122 Parliamentarians after he lost two no-confidence votes. The Parliamentarians who signed the petition included the members of United National Party (UNP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

The court decided to hear the petition on November 30 and December 3 before a two-judge bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena and Arjuna Obeysekera.

On Sunday (December 2), Rajapaksa said that it is imperative to conduct general elections in the country in order to restore democracy and put an end to the ongoing political crisis.

Sri Lanka has been reeling from a turbulent political crisis for almost a month, when President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26 abruptly sacked then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and installed the now-ousted Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country's former President, as the new premier.

President Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered a snap election.

The country's Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls. The apex court will hear more arguments and is expected to deliver the verdict next week.