State Minister Sanath Nishantha arrived at the Court of Appeal today (13) to surrender himself a short while after the orders were issued for the Inspector General of Police to immediately arrest the MP for contempt of court. Summons were issued on the state minister on September 29 and October 05, ordering him to show cause over the contempt of court charges levelled against him. When summons were issued on Oct. 05, the parliamentarian was ordered to make an appearance at the court today. Earlier today, the Appeals Court bench consisting of Judges Nishshanka Bandula Karunaratne and R. Gurusinghe directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to arrest the parliamentarian as he failed to comply with the court order. Previously, in two petitions filed against State Minister Sanath Nishantha, Attorneys-at-Law Priyalal Sirisena and Vijitha Kumara had sought punishment against him for contempt of court. The petitioners emphasized in the petitions that the respondent, Sanath Nishantha, who spoke to the media at a media conference held at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party headquarters on August 23, had expressed critical views on the manner in which the magistrates acted in granting bail to the suspects involved in the ‘Aragalaya’ protest movement. Further, the petitioners alleged that the MP has damaged the honour and the image of the judiciary, while he was out on bail after being remanded in custody by the Colombo Fort Magistrate with regard to the incident of attacking the ‘GotaGoGama’ protest site at Galle Face Green on May 09. Thus, the petitioners accused State Minister Sanath Nishantha of committing an offence under Article 105 (3) of the Constitution. The attorneys had filed the petitions naming the Attorney General, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and Minister Sanath Nishantha as the respondents.