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by a Special Correspondent from Jaffna
(April 26, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Guardian) The entire Jaffna Community, including the majority Hindu population, has hailed the gracious act of Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel S Thiagarajah, the Bishop of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India towards Ms Shiranee Mills, the Principal of the Uduvil Girls College in seeking a pardon on her behalf from Court when she was found to have committed perjury during her evidence against him.
This momentous event occurred during the proceedings in the District Court of Jaffna on 24th April 2008. The proceedings were for contempt of court for using the name “American Ceylon Mission” against the injunction issued by court. One of the accused Ms Mills had given evidence on behalf of herself and the other accused on 31st March 2008. In the course of cross-examination she admitted in open court to have lied to court on three matters, including once in her affidavit submitted to court.
This was later clarified and confirmed by the District Judge as well. Further action against her was put off until the typed proceedings of the day became available. On 24th April 2008, when the matter came up in court, senior counsel for the Plaintiffs, M A Sumanthiran, Attorney at Law, stated to court that he has received instructions from Bishop Thiagarajah to plead to court on behalf of Ms Mills in granting the minimum possible sentence to her, as required by Christian charity. The full text of this plea, which was read out by Mr Sumanthiran from a prepared text is given below.
The Accused in the case, however, showed further defiance by revoking their proxies granted to their lawyer, seeking to take advantage of the legal requirement that in such a case they ought to be given a months’ time to retain the services of another lawyer. They had previously petitioned the Court of Appeal with Affidavits from Solomon Milton and lawyer Ratnavel stating that Ms Mills conceded to committing perjury only because she was subjected to “aggressive cross-examination” which went unchecked by the Judge.
When this affidavit of lawyer Ratnavel was brought to the notice of the District Judge by the accused themselves, as the reason for the withdrawal of their lawyer, the District Judge immediately referred the matter to the Supreme Court for appropriate disciplinary action against all concerned for seeking to distort what happened in open court. He also declined to make any further orders in the matter. The matter now goes to the Supreme Court and due to the behaviour of the accused, Ms Mills may now not receive the benefit of Bishop’s plea on her behalf and she stands exposed to a criminal indictment carrying a maximum sentence of 7 years imprisonment. Solomon Milton also faces serious punishment and it is believed that lawyer Ratnavel’s licence to practice as an Attorney at Law is in serious jeopardy.
The people of Jaffna, while commending the Bishop for his gracious act, are disillusioned with the behaviour of Ms Mills and are questioning the propriety of her carrying on as Principal of Uduvil Girls College, after herself conceding in open court to have committed perjury.
The first accused in the contempt charge, Sellathurai Jeyanesan, Chairman of the unlawful association referred to as “Church of the American Ceylon Mission”, is still absconding and evading the open warrant issued for his arrest for committing criminal contempt by violating undertakings given to court. It is believed that he is moving from country to country in order to avoid arrest and being extradited to Sri Lanka to face charges.
The full text of Bishop‘s plea on behalf of Ms Shiranee Mills:
In this case, during the course of the inquiry into a charge of contempt of court, the 11th Defendant-Respondent gave evidence in court on 31st March 2008. During the course of her evidence she committed perjury on three counts. When I brought this to the attention of court on 1st April 2008, Your Honour enlarged her on bail pending the court examining the typed court proceedings of 31st March 2008. Now the proceedings are available and I wish to draw the attention of court to the following:
1. Witness stated categorically that she did not know where the meetings were held on 4th and 5th of August 2007, but had to admit that she knew that it was held at Manipay, after being confronted with her own Answer filed in this case;
2. Witness stated that she was not a member of the Church of the American Ceylon Mission, but later admitted that her name was put on A4 with her consent;
3. Witness unambiguously conceded that her affidavit to court contains false averment. This was verified by court also and is a matter that cannot be changed since it is in writing anyway.
Perjury is a serious offence since it affects the due administration of justice. It is also a matter entirely in the hands of court and carries with it a maximum sentence of 7 years imprisonment if convicted. But before court makes an order in this regard, I seek the permission of court to make the following submissions.
These proceedings to enforce the Enjoining Order by the punishment of the offenders were initiated by the Plaintiffs. The Chairman of the 1st Plaintiff, American Ceylon Mission, is the Bishop of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India who is a spiritual leader and has instructed me to plead with Your Honour as follows:
The laws of our country require that the integrity of the judicial processes be guarded against acts such as perjury. The Christian belief too coincides with this position and requires that the system of justice be safeguarded and the guilty punished. However, Christian charity requires us to exercise grace to the offenders and forgive them the same way we have been forgiven by God. Therefore the Bishop wishes me to inform Your Honour with respect that he is willing to forgive the 11th Defendant-Respondent and plead that she be treated with the utmost leniency.
If the requirements of both Justice and Grace were to be met, the 11th Defendant-Respondent should be convicted of the offence of perjury but given a sentence that demonstrates the forgiveness the Bishop wishes to grant. So although this is a matter entirely for the court to decide, I have been instructed to plead for mercy in sentencing the 11th Defendant-Respondent. I wish to most humbly suggest to court that she be treated in terms of Section 449(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act and Section 11 of the Oaths and Affirmation Ordinance, which prescribe a sentence not exceeding 3 months imprisonment.
I would even take the liberty to seek the indulgence of Your Honour’s court and suggest that even the 3 months’ imprisonment be suspended for a period of 5 years. However, if court convicts her it would become incompatible with her continued tenure as the Principal of a leading school in the country. Therefore I seek an appropriate order or direction in this regard as well.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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