Sri Lanka's Supreme Court overturns ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa granting pardon to a murder convict

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Wednesday overturned a presidential pardon granted by former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to a close aide who was convicted of murder.

The ruling by the apex court was the first such case since the presidential form of governance introduced in 1978.

Rajapaksa, in mid-2021, had pardoned a close political aide Duminda Silva who had been subjected to the death penalty for murdering a local political rival from the same party in 2011. This pardoning was later challenged by the relatives of Silva’s victim Bharata Lakshman Premachandra.

Silva and Premachandra were vying for political supremacy in the Colombo suburb of Kolonnawa during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Silva was convicted of gunning down Premachandra. Gotabaya, who succeeded Mahinda in 2019 as the president, had pardoned Silva.

However, on Wednesday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court said Rajapaksa had not given any reasons why he was pardoning Silva while also having failed to follow due process.

Under Article 34 of the Constitution, Sri Lanka’s presidents are empowered to grant pardons subject to a stipulated process.

Silva was originally convicted by the High Court and it was later confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Silva, after being pardoned, was appointed by Rajapaksa to head the state housing authority.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to resign in July 2022 following the unprecedented economic turmoil in the island nation.

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