Sri Lankan supreme court overturned President Maithripala Sirisena's dissolution of parliament and also put on hold snap elections on January 5. The apex court was hearing the petitions filed by the supporters of sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
A three-member bench, including the country's chief justice Nalin Perera, delivered its ruling after two days of deliberations on as many as 13 petitions against and five for Sirisena's November 9 decision to dissolve parliament.
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Sirisena replaced Wickremesinghe with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on October 26, a few days after Wickremesinghe returned from a trip to India. The president had said an assassination plot against him—which apparently involved a cabinet minister—and several grave charges against Wickremesinghe forced him to sack the prime minister.
Supporters of Ranil Wickremesinghe celebrate after the top court’s verdict, in Colombo | Bhanu Prakash Chandra
In an address to the nation on October 28, Sirisena blamed Wickremesinghe of supporting corruption, planning to give away land to foreigners and of taking decisions without consulting him.
A defiant Wickremesinghe called his sacking unconstitutional and vowed to put up a fight.
The apex court also ruled that all petitions filed against Sirisena's decision will be heard on December 4, 5 and 6.
