Bogollagama was the first UNP member to join the UPFA cabinet

The Lankadeepa editor has been warned by the Supreme Court against publishing any more articles critical of Supreme Court judgements.

Advanced Technology and National Enterprise Development Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has filed a petition against Lankadeepa for publishing a statement by the opposition United National Party (UNP) criticising a Supreme Court’s judgment on his parliamentary seat.

The court decided that the UNP’s attempt to expel the minister from the party was against Sri Lanka’s constitution as the decision was taken without a disciplinary hearing.

Ranasinghe told the open court on Monday that he has no intention of contempt of court in publishing the statement.

He apologised to the court. He said he also had no intention of any adverse affect on minister Bogollagama.

Bogollagama became the first UNP member to join the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government when he sworn in as a minister during the budget debate last November.

The Free Media Movement (FMM) has earlier condemned the petition as an intervention to freedom of speech in Sri Lanka.