The Supreme Court has sentenced Harsha Ilukpitiya, the Director of Immigration and Emigration, to two years in prison on charges of contempt of court.
The verdict was delivered by Supreme Court Judge Yasantha Kodagoda, with the agreement of judges Janak De Silva and Arjuna Obeysekera. The ruling noted that Ilukpitiya had shown gross disrespect toward the judiciary through his actions.
The case stems from a decision during the previous government to outsource electronic visa issuance to two private companies. The Supreme Court had issued an interim injunction to prevent this decision from being implemented, effectively restoring the old visa issuance system.
Harsha Ilukpitiya, by deliberately circumventing this court order and proceeding with the outsourced system, was found to have contemptuously defied the Supreme Court, leading to the charges and subsequent prison sentence.
This case highlights the judiciary’s firm stance that no public official is above the law, reinforcing the authority of court orders in safeguarding legal and procedural integrity.
Leave your comments
Login to post a comment
Post comment as a guest