On December 3, the Court of Appeal issued an interim order restraining Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning until the hearing of the Writ of Quo Warranto filed against them is concluded.However, the following day an appeal was filed with the Supreme Court against the interim order stating that the interim order is unconstitutional and that the Court of Appeal has no authority to issue such orders. The appeal was filed by attorneys on behalf of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The 122 MPs who had signed the Writ of Quo Warranto petition, against Mahinda Rajapaksa holding office as Prime Minister, have been named as respondents in the appeal. Meanwhile, a lawyer on behalf of Ranil Wickremesinghe filed a motion before the Supreme Court requesting a five-member judge panel for the hearing of the aforementioned appeal. However, this motion was rejected by the Supreme Court after considerations.

The appeal filed by Mahinda Rajapaksa will be taken up for hearing on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of January 2019. Written submissions of all parties need to be submitted within three weeks. The three-judge bench informed the counsel’s today that parties who wanted a five-judge bench ould make an application to the Chief Justice in this regard.

The appeal was taken up before Justices Eva Wanasundara, Buwaneka Aluvihare, and Vijith Malalgoda. ..