The Supreme Court has issued an interim restraining order preventing Inspector General of Police Deshbandu Tennakoon from working as the Inspector General of Police.
A group of stakeholders, including His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, had filed fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court asking for an order to annul the President’s decision to appoint Mr. Deshbandu Tennakoon as the Inspector General of Police.
The Supreme Court issued this order allowing 9 fundamental rights petitions to be heard.
The Supreme Court made this order today (24) so that the relevant order will be effective until the end of the petition hearing.
These petitions were called before Supreme Court judges Yasanta Kodagoda, Mahinda Samayawardena and Achala Vengappuli.
The petition hearing was conducted for six days and last Thursday the petition hearing was conducted for almost eight hours.
The petitioners point out in their petitions that the nomination of Mr. Deshbandu Tennakoon, who was recommended by the President for the appointment as the Inspector General of Police, has not been formally approved by the Constitutional Council.
Also, the petitioners had emphasized that the decision taken by the President to appoint him for that position was completely contrary to the law.
Therefore, in the relevant petitions, the order to invalidate the relevant appointments had been issued.
Members of the Constitutional Council including the Speaker, Deshbandu Tennakoon, the Attorney General and others were named as respondents in the petitions.
Advocate Suren Fernando, President’s Advocate Shamin Perera, President’s Advocate Saliya Peiris and President’s Advocate Viran Koraya, President’s Advocate Upul Jayasuriya, Advocate Tishya Weragoda and a group of lawyers appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioners.