"Shirani Bandaranayake has been restored on the basis that procedure adopted to remove her during the tenure of President Rajapaksa was flawed," J C Weliamuna, Convener of the Lawyers' Collective attorney-at-law, said today.
The 43rd Chief Justice arrived at the court complex this afternoon where she received a grand welcome from the lawyers.
Bandaranayke, Sri Lanka's first woman chief judge who was unceremoniously removed from the Supreme Court in 2013 by the Rajapaksa government, always insisted that she was still the "legal" Chief Justice of the country.
Weliamuna said Peiris has been asked to resign gracefully to pave the way for her.
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Peiris had steadfastly ignored calls to resign since Rajapaksa's defeat early this month.
Bandaranayake, however, will resign from her position tomorrow, according to sources.
Her restoration came after weeks of protest against her successor Peiris urging him to step down with the advent of Sirisena who defeated Rajapaksa in the January 8 election.
The decision came under severe international criticism against the Rajapaksa government as it was seen as an act of political vengeance against the Chief Justice.
Rajapaksa appointed a parliamentary select committee to impeach Bandaranayake in late 2012. It was rushed through parliament using the government's two-third majority.
The then opposition claimed that parliament had only approved the setting up of a select committee and its recommendations was not subject for parliament's approval. Therefore her sacking was illegal.
Last week, President Sirisena had reinstated the rank of former army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka, who was stripped of all ranks and sentenced to jail by Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka's only four-star general, 64-year-old Fonseka led the Army to defeat the Tamil Tigers in 2009. He later fell out with Rajapaksa and challenged him in the election of 2010.
Rajapaksa routed Fonseka in the polls. Thereafter Fonseka was arrested, court martialled and jailed for corruption.