He was escorted to the court premises by prison officers while the case is being heard before Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja.

The former parliamentarian was jailed a year ago on a charge of contempt of court.

The case stems from a statement made by Ranjan Ramanayake during a television program in 2018 regarding the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court that heard fundamental rights petitions filed by then President Maithripala.