Daily NEWS Srilanka

MP Pavithra Wanniaarachchi had been subjected to a severe warning by Colombo Additional Magistrate Mrs. Aruni Attygala. The reason for this was that when the MP was present in courts in connection with a legal case when the attention was in focus over the case she had been sticking her finger at her attorneys-at-law unnecessarily and giving them

At a time when a case is being heard and when the magistrate is watching, the prevalence of a disciplined environment is required for the verdict of the case to be delivered and no opportunity is given for people to walk about, attend to telephone calls, engage in conversation or to drink water. In case anybody was seen behaving in such an obstructive way the judge is permitted to take disciplinary action against the person concerned.

MP Pavithra Wanniaarachchi being a lawyer herself while fully aware of these matters had committed this offence. At the moment the defense lawyer was in the process of bringing forward the necessary points regarding a court case pertaining to her, MP and attorney-at-law of the United People's Freedom Alliance who was sticking her finger at one of her lawyers was thus strictly warned last morning by Colombo Additional Magistrate Mrs. Aruni Attygala.

The legal case in question relating to her was that that she had leased out a luxury house situated in Subhuthipura area in Battaramulla which had lacked required facilities and over that issue she had tried to hand over the house prior to the stipulated date at which instance the owner of the said house had cheated her by handing her a dishonoured cheque. Thus a case had been filed against him accusing him of cheating her for a sum of Rs. 20 lakhs.

The Additional Magistrate who observed MP Mrs. Pavithra Wanniaarachchi who arrived in courts yesterday with her attorneys-at-law when the case was called being engaged in giving advice to a junior attorney-at-law by sticking her finger at his body and even further calling him to a corner of the courts and giving him instructions had this to say: "parties connected to the case are expected to give instructions to their lawyers not when court proceedings are in progress, but outside courts. Courts cannot permit anybody to stick his or her finger at a lawyer and give instructions. The courts cannot devote any speciality in the case of this particular legal case. The complainant is an attorney-at-law. As such she should know how to behave in courts more than anyone else".