Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine Rajitha Senaratne said that even former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake did not act independently in her term in office.

Speaking to the Foreign Correspondents’ Association, Senaratne recently said that the former CJ had worked closely with former president Rajapaksa until a financial deal involving her husband came to light.

Senaratne, who was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee which found Bandaranayake guilty, said that the charges against her were substantial, despite the fact that the impeachment was politically motivated.

He claimed that he had asked the then president Rajapaksa to give the Chief Justice more time to respond to the charges against her. But Rajapaksa disregarded his advice, Senaratne said.

When asked why she was reappointed if there were clear indictments against her, Senaratne said that was done because of a legality in the process. The former government had not presented the charges against Bandaranayake as a special motion to the parliament, as it should have been, he added.