Court says JVP has no rights to claim UPFA national list seat

The petition was filed by a supporter of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the appointment of Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan, widely known as Karuna.

JVP said the President Rajapaksa-led United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has no right to appoint a national list MP for the vacancy created by the resignation of JVP parliamentarian Wasantha Samararasinghe.

Prison sentence

Chief Justice Sarath Silva the JVP has no right to appoint UPFA MPs as the party is no longer a member of the alliance.

The counsel appearing for the petition argued that the appointment should be made null and void as Mr. Muralitharan has served a prison sentence in UK.

But the CJ said the Supreme Court has no judicial powers to consider a punishment given outside Sri Lanka.

Col. Karuna who is accused of gross human rights violations during his time with the LTTE and after he left the Tamil Tigers, was appointed as a national list MP by the UPFA on 06 October.

Opposition parties and human rights watchdogs have strongly criticised the move.