Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today confirmed that de facto Chief Justice Mohan Peiris was present at Temple Trees in the wee hours of January 09, while results of the presidential election were being announced. 

Making a special statement in Parliament today, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said it was not ethical for the de facto Chief Justice to be present at the residence of the Executive President at that hour. A complaint has already been lodged with the CID on the de facto Chied Justice's alleged involvement in the "attempted coup".

Wickemesinghe also revealed that the de facto Chief Justice expressed willingness to deliver judgments in favour of the new government - posing a serious threat to judicial independence.

“We can clearly understand that Chief Justice Mohan Peiris acted biased towards the former regime and that unprofessional loyalty clouded his judgments”, he said.

He asserted that Peiris’s loyalty towards power put the entire Parliament at risk. “With one request he could have sent the entire Parliament to jail”, he added.

The Prime Minister also went on to criticize the conduct that was adopted by the former regime when removing Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and replacing Mohan Peiris as the 44th Chief Justice of the country. However, the government later determined that Peiris was only "de faco" CJ and his appointment had no legal basis.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe also added that Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake’s impeachment was unconstitutional and illegal as the motion did not contain an address for removal which is a mandatory requirement as per the Constitution. The motion merely reproduced the earlier resolution seeking to appoint a select committee to inquire into the matter - a legal lapse which was repeatedly pointed out by the UNP.