Sri Lanka: SC overturns Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka here on Thursday said that the decision of President Maithripala Sirisena to dissolve the country's Parliament was unconstitutional and illegal.

According to Daily Mirror, a seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera passed a unanimous verdict over-ruling the President's decision and noting that a resolution needs to be passed by a two-thirds majority if the President Siresena wants to dissolve the Parliament before completing a term of four and half years.

In its verdict, the top court of the island nation also termed the Sirisena's decision to call for snap polls in January next year as "illegal", Al Jazeera reported.

The Court's verdict came as a blow to President Sirisena. It was much anticipated by the people of the country, especially after Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe from his Prime Ministerial duties and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on October 26.

The verdict also reinstates the possibility that the next Parliamentary elections in the country would be held after February 2020.