Sri Lankan parliament impeaches chief justice

The Sri Lankan parliament on 11 January voted by a majority to impeach the country's Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, beginning the process to remove her from office. The impeachment motion was passed by a two-third majority with 155 members voting for and 49 against it. It is now up to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to take a decision if he will remove the country's first woman chief justice. The government accuses her of corruption, an allegation the chief justice denies. Recent court rulings said the process was unconstitutional, and she may refuse to leave. Critics of the government say that the top judge is being victimised and the independence of the judiciary is being challenged. The government denies this, the report added.