By Gagani Weerakoon

Flanked by six of her lawyers, Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake arrived at the Parliamentary Complex yesterday to attend the hearing conducted by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), which decided to grant her time till 4 December to file objections in her defence.

Dr. Bandaranayake, who arrived in Parliament around 10:00 a.m., was met at the public entrance by Assistant Serjeant-at-Arms, Kushan Jayaratna, and a protocol officer and then was accompanied to the Committee Room waiting area. She was seen greeting all those who gathered at the entrance to witness her arrival, including journalists and Parliament staff.

The security personnel, who were unable to check the belongings of Dr. Bandaranayake’s lawyers at the entrance to the Parliament premises due to the haste with which the party was ushered in, were seen later checking them inside the Parliament premises, sources said.

The Committee members arrived around 10:30 a.m. and commenced the proceedings, and the Chief Justice was called in around 11:20 a.m.

Initially, she was asked to enter Committee Room 1, where the proceedings were underway, unaccompanied . However, as she refused to do so, two of her lawyers were allowed to accompany her and later the other four lawyers also joined her.

At the onset, the Committee informed it would disregard the recommendation of the Supreme Court, made on Thursday, that the Committee defer its meetings till the Court gives a determination on the Petitions challenging the legality of the PSC.

The sittings continued till 1:00 p.m.

Media personnel covering Parliament were allowed to cover the Chief Justice’s arrival and talk to her lawyers, even though they were informed to refrain from taking photographs inside the building.

Several UNP MPs, including Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, Palitha Range Bandara, Rosy Senanayake, Sujeewa Senasinghe and Dayasiri Jayasekera were among those who came to greet the Chief Justice before the proceedings began.

Several government members, including Minister Mervin Silva, Sarath Kumara Gunaratna and Sarana Gunawardena were also seen in the waiting area of the Committee Room.

The Chief Justice’s team of lawyers consisted of senior counsels, including Romesh de Silva, Kandiah Neelakandan, Nalin Ladduwahetty, Sugath Caldera, Riyaz Ameen and Saliya Peiris.

The Committee fixed the next hearing for 4 December though initially the hearing was fixed for 30 November.

Meanwhile, a group of government members who signed the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice hailed the latter’s move to come before the PSC, saying it will contribute largely to strengthening the goodwill among the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.

Holding a press briefing in the Parliament complex yesterday, they expressed their desire to request an opportunity to appear before the PSC and validate the charges brought up in the motion.

Higher Education Minister, S.B. Dissanayake, while appreciating the CJ’s appearance as a way of showing mutual respect that prevailed between the two institutions over the years, said they expect all the others in the Judiciary to support the PSC proceedings to continue uninterrupted.

“From our side, we have kept quiet about the proceedings and let the free flow of the proceedings. We expect the Judiciary also to maintain silence over the matter, which has not been happening so far, as they are very vocal about it. holding protests and demonstrations,” he said.COURTESY:CEYLON TODAY