In this photograph taken on December 4, 2012, Sri Lanka s Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake prays outside The Supreme Court in Colombo. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday sacked the chief justice by ratifying a controversial parliamentary vote, defying international calls for restraint and plunging the country into a constitutional crisis.
Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman to hold the office of top judge, had issued several decisions at odds with the government. Rajapakse dismissed her after a closed-door meeting with other judges on Saturday, according to a presidential spokesman.
The move came despite mounting calls on the president to halt the impeachment, which is seen by rights groups and Western nations as a blow to judicial independence in a country just emerging from decades of ethnic war.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2013.
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