A Sri Lankan court today brought criminal charges of corruption against the country's first woman chief justice who had been sacked by the government.
Bandaranayake, 54, was removed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January following a parliament vote on impeachment against her on charges of corruption.
The Colombo magistrate's court brought criminal charges of corruption against Bandaranayake and impounded her passport. The court has fixed a hearing for February.
Bandaranayake was charged in the impeachment for the non declaration of assets, including several bank accounts with zero balances.
The action was filed by the Bribery and Corruption Commission. If found guilty she would face a 7-year jail sentence and a fine.
The impeachment procedure against Bandaranayake came in for international criticism as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
The former judge had walked out of the impeachment process calling it was politically motivated and saying she was denied a fair trial by members of parliament.
