Missive

Jan 16, 2013 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's impeached Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake said she was leaving her residence and chambers fearing violence, after being unjustly persecuted, vilified and condemned.







"Since it now appears that there might be violence if I remain in my official residence or my chambers I am compelled to move out of my official residence and chambers particularly because the violence is directed at innocent people including judges, lawyers and committed members of the public," she said in a statement.

"It is not only the office of Chief Justice, but also the very independence of the judiciary, that has been usurped.

The very tenor of rule of law, natural justice and judicial abeyance has not only been ousted, but brutally mutilated.

"I have suffered because I stood for an independent judiciary and withstood the pressures.

It is the People who are supreme and the Constitution of the Republic recognizes the rule of law and if that rule of law had prevailed, I would not have been punished unjustly.



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Bandaranayake maintained that she was legally still the Chief Justice, though Sri Lanka's President made a fresh appointment.

Shortly before her impeachment a senior judge