SriLanka, Sept. 11 -- The Supreme Court, while invalidating the Presidential pardon granted to Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera by former President Maithripala Sirisena, has stressed that the President exercises the executive power of the People in trust and must exercise such power in the public interest.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Janak De Silva observed that a Presidential pardon is not a private act of grace exercised for the benefit of the President or for the advancement of any personal, political or other self-serving interest.

Justice De Silva held that the power to grant a pardon is a constitutional power derived from the sovereignty of the People and must therefore be exercised to...