The President is under a great fear that Chief Justcie Shirani Bandaranayake might ignore directives issued by him in the face of pressure from Supreme Court judges on Bandaranayake asking her to act in a manner to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, sources from the Presidential Secretariat said.

The judges have explained to the Chief Justice the need to act in a manner that would build confidence among the people in the country’s judiciary in independent, unbiased and metes out justice.

Senior lawyers have assured the Chief Justice that the entire legal fraternity would stand by her in the event she comes under any undue political pressure for delivering unbiased verdicts in cases.

The legal experts have told the Chief Justice that people were disgusted in the manner in which the case against Sarath Fonseka was heard and the verdict that was issued. They have said that incidents such as these had eroded public confidence in the country’s judiciary.

The President has heard that the Chief Justice is now under pressure to protect the dignity of the judiciary.

The President therefore believes that Fonseka’s bail application might receive a positive response and the source from the Presidential Secretariat said a decision has hence been reached to release Fonseka before such a verdict is issued by courts.

The President is looking at releasing Fonseka and scoring points with the maha sangha before he is released by the judiciary making him gain political mileage.