Premalal Jayasekara issue Prez says Judges to both High Court & Appeal Court were appointed by CC

• Says Govt. want to retain some of the features of 19A as they are  

By Lahiru Pothmulla   

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday said the High Court Judge who gave the verdict on the Premalal Jayasekara case as well as the Court of Appeal Judges, were appointed by the Constitutional Council (CC) in which Karu Jayasuriya, Sajith Premadasa and Thalatha Athukorala were members.   

Jayasekara and two others were sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court in late July over a shooting incident in Kahawatte while the Court of Appeal on Monday, issued an interim order directing the Commissioner General of Prisons to allow convicted MP Premalal Jayasekara to attend Parliament sittings. 

 
During a meeting held with State Ministers at the Presidential Secretariat, President Rajapaksa said neither he nor the Prime Minister influenced the judicial process.   

“If pressure was exerted, it should have been done to the High Court, which never happened. The judge who gave the verdict was appointed by the Constitutional Council in which Karu Jayasuriya, Sajith Premadasa and Thalatha Athukorala were members. It was the same Constitutional Council that appointed the Judges to the Court of Appeal. Certain verdicts are good for the opposition while the others are not,” the President commented.   

Meanwhile, President Rajapaksa stated that the purpose of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution was to remove the obstacles created by the 19th Amendment and move forward.   
“Not everything can be changed at once. It is a time consuming process. Different views have been put forward. We want to retain some of the features of the 19th Amendment as they are. The main objective is to continue working while maintaining the tenure of the President,” he said.   

• If pressure was exerted, it should have been done to the High Court,