The quo warranto petition challenging Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's MP position will be heard in the Court of Appeal on January 31.

The petitioner claimed Ranil Wickremesinghe is a shareholder of a private company that entered into agreements with the government institutions and therefore he had no right to function as a parliamentarian.

The petition has been filed by Sharmila Gonawala, the Co-President of ‘Women for Justice’ and a strong supporter of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and the Secretary-General of Parliament are among the four respondents named in the petition.

The petitioner claimed that  Wickremesinghe is a shareholder of Lake House Printers and Publishers PLC that is engaged in business activities with the Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank.

Lake House Printers and Publishers is a company owned by Wickremesinghe's family which also owned the Lake House newspapers company now controlled by the government.