Notice was issued by Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya to 27 individuals to appear at the court on May 8, on charges of contempt of court, after they staged a protest in front of the Bribery Commission violating a court order.

Several Buddhist monks including Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera, Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera, Medagoda Abhayathissa Thera and Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera were among those who were issued notice.

Dullas Alahapperuma, Bandula Gunawardena, Janaka Priyantha Bandara, Roshan Ranasinghe, Sarath Weerasekara, Udith Lokubandara, Jayantha Ketagoda, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Gamini Lokuge and SM Chandrasena were the UPFA MPs who were issued notice.

Meanwhile, Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, Western Province Councilors Udaya Gammanpila and Roger Seneviratne were also issued notice.

The protest was held on Thursday morning near the Bribery Commission against the decision by the commission to summon former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.