SC to hear appeal filed by former Minister Bathiudeen against conviction by CA

By Ifham Nizam

The Supreme Court has accepted an appeal submitted by former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen seeking the annulment of a verdict given by the Court of Appeal against him regarding the deforestation of the area located around the Wilpattu Forest Reserve. It is to be taken up for consideration on 19 Jan. 2023.

The petition was called before a three-member Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Gamini Amarasekara, Achala Vengappuli and Arjuna Obeysekera yesterday (05).

The Supreme Court further decided to refer the consideration of the petition to another bench since Justice Arjuna Obeysekera, who is a member of the three-member Supreme Court bench, had also participated in the Appellate Court hearing related to the case.

Accordingly, the petition was ordered to be heard on 19 January 2023.

Bathiudeen, who presented the appeal, has mentioned that the Court of Appeal which issued the verdict in the case filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice regarding the deforestation of the area in the Kallaru Reserve located near the Wilpattu Forest Reserve, ordered him to take measures for the re-plantation of the concerned area at his own personal expense.

CEJ Executive Director Dilena Pathragoda instituted the public interest litigation seeking to impugn several acts of the Respondents stated therein in the forest complex adjoining Wilpattu National Park, i.e. Northern Sanctuary of Wilpattu National Park, Maraichukkaddi/Karadikkuli Reserve Forest standing westward of Wilpattu blocks II and IV and the forest area in Madhu, Periyamadhu and Mannar area which is part of the Madhu Road Sanctuary and Madhu Road Reserve Forest, in CA Writ Application No. 291/2015.

On 16.11.2020 the Court of Appeal held that the resettlement of the IDPs had been made in violation of the provisions of the Forest Conservation Ordinance. A copy of the said judgment was annexed for court reference.

The Court of Appeal issued an order in the nature of mandamus ordering the Conservator General, Department of Forest Conservation (named as the 1st Respondent) to take action to implement a tree-planting programme under and in terms of the provisions of the Forest Ordinance No. 16 of 1907 as amended in any area equivalent to the reserved forest area illegally cleared.