The Colombo District Court yesterday issued a stay order preventing the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe from suspending the party membership of Rohitha Bogollagama. This followed a petition filed by the Minister Bogollagama, stating that the UNP is seeking to eject him from the party.

Bogollagama had cited UNP leader and 92 members of the Executive Committee of UNP as respondents.   

He had told the court that he received a show cause letter dated March 23 2009, asking him to explain why the party should not cancel his party membership under Section 3.3 of the party constitution.

Thereafter, he had received another letter on April 04, 2009, stating that the party Secretary would take steps to inform the Secretary

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General of Parliament to remove his name from the members list. The letter had further indicated that his membership with the Executive Committee would also be cancelled.

Bogollagama had told the District Court that there was a Supreme Court judgment, made  in 2005, in his favour which allowed him to support the government while being a membership of the UNP.

Following the petition, and considering the submissions of the lawyers who appeared for Bogollagama, the District Judge Sampath Wijeratne gave an order preventing the operation of the said letters sent by UNP party Secretary Tissa Attanayake, and restraining the party from suspending him.