President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has withdrawn the nomination of Court of Appeal Judge M. T. Mohamed Lafar to the Supreme Court, amidst an intense controversy in legal circles over the nomination at issue even before the occurrence of a vacancy in the apex court. The matter would be raised in Parliament, SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera said.

President Dissanayake owed the country an explanation as to why that nomination was made in such a hurry, Jayasekera said. “President Dissanayake is believed to have sent Lafar’s nomination to the Constitutional Council on 9 June, before he left for Germany on an official tour,” he said.

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne heads the 10-member CC.

Former Minister Jayasekera said that he was aware of the decision to withdraw Lafar’s nomination.

Speaker’s Office sources told The Island that they couldn’t comment on the issue without consulting the Speaker. Sources in the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said that a couple of judicial appointments were due soon and the BASL’s official comment could be made available once it studied the developments.

Other sources said that the President intended to fill the vacancy to be created by justice Gamini Amarasekera’s retirement, on 20 June, with Lafar, who is the current President of the Court of Appeal. However, Lafar is to retire on 18 June, after having reached the retirement age on 18 June, sources said.

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake couldn’t be contacted for comment.In terms of the Constitution, the President has to consult the Chief Justice regarding nominations before they are forwarded to the CC.

MP Jayasekera said that he would seek the government parliamentary group response to the Supreme Court matter. The NPP, having accused all previous governments of wrongdoings, couldn’t be allowed to manipulate judicial appointments, he added. (SF)