Speaker can be charged for contempt of court: Prof. Peiris
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Parliamentarian Prof. G. L. Peiris said yesterday that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena could be charged for contempt of court for disregarding Supreme Court recommendations in respect of the Online Safety Bill (OSB).
The former External Affairs Minister said the certification by the Speaker of the OSB Bill was an executive or administrative act, not a legislative act. “It couldn’t be legislative because Parliament had been prorogued at the time of certification. It is certainly a tenable position that the Speaker is guilty of contempt because he certified the enactment of provisions passed by a simple majority, in open defiance of the Supreme Court Determination that these provisions could be validly enacted only by a “special majority “, i.e. a 2/3rd majority. It is also an intentionally accepted contravention of a binding determination by the apex Court of the country.”
The dissident SLPP MP said that Opposition parties haD declared support for the SJB’s decision to move a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Speaker Abeywardena.
Former JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa yesterday pledged their support for the NCM. The Uththara Lanka Sabhagaya, comprising breakaway SLPP MPs, too, has assured its backing for the move.
Chief Government Whip Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday (27) said that the NCM would give the government an opportunity to prove that it was in control of Parliament.
Addressing the media at Kalutara after attending the District Development Council meeting, the Gampaha District SLPP heavyweight said that the government wanted an early date for debate and vote on the NCM against the Speaker.
Source:: The Island