Earlier, the judge-bench chaired by Chief Justice K. Sripavan issued a directive to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to refrain from deporting Gunaratnam until 18 February.

The petition was filed seeking a court order against an attempt to arrest and deport Gunaratnam, terming it as ‘illegal’.

Gunaratnam, a former JVP leader and political activist in Sri Lanka who later became an Australian citizen, had arrived in Sri Lanka on 01 January, ahead of the Presidential Election.

According to reports, Gunaratnam had arrived in the island on a 30-day tourist visa which expired on 31 January, while the Department of Immigration and Emigration had sought his arrest for visa violations.