COLOMBO : Justice Minister Ali Sabry said in a heated argument in the parliament on Friday that he was wearing ‘ Tie and Coat’ according to the dress code of the parliament and told the house not to raise racism from his clothes.
The arguments erupted when a question was raised by MP Chaminda Wijesiri during the question round for Oral answers in Parliament and hinted at the Justice Minister wearing ‘Coat and Tie’.
Following the angry outbursts of the Justice Minister, Harsha De Silva intervened and appealed for calm in such a situation.
Sabry, who had been a one-time diplomat, gracefully said he was sorry if his statement had hurt anybody during his reply to the question.
Answering Wijesiri’s question, Sabry said : “ Unlike during the previous regime, the current Justice Minister does not give phone calls to anyone and the Justice Ministry does not get involved in judicial cases.”.
.Wijesiri asked for the names of the lawyers appearing in the case against the Kurunegala doctor involved in the alleged mass sterilization of women.
“Currently, there are 795,000 cases and the Justice Ministry does not have the ability to provide the names of lawyers who are appearing for these cases. If he requires these names, then he needs to pay and request for a certified copy. As for where he should get advice regarding these cases, that is something he must consult himself.
“He should know that as the Justice Minister no responsibility is vested on me. He should also know that the Justice Minister does not give phone calls to anyone and neither have we established special courts for selected cases. As the Justice Ministry, we work within the perimeters of our subject assigned to us. We have no intention of getting involved in cases, we will not interfere in court cases and there is no possibility for us to get involved either. I also strongly believe that this is something that we should not do,”Sabry concluded