Sunil Perera vs. Ranjan Ramanayaka – sllr 2021 volume 1 page 215

In the case between Sunil Perera (complainant) and Ranjan Ramanayake alias Sadda Vidda Rajapakse (respondent, Member of Parliament and non-Cabinet Minister), the court considered whether public statements made by the respondent alleging that “95% of judges and lawyers are corrupt” constituted contempt of court under Article 105(3) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The sequence of events revealed that, despite the respondent’s later assertions of unintentional reference to judges, subsequent public statements affirmed his inclusion of judges in his criticism. Examination of video evidence and media transcripts established that the inclusion of judges was deliberate. The findings confirmed that the respondent’s statements undermined the authority of the judiciary and the administration of ju