Sri Lanka, May 8 -- Supreme Court Judge S. Thurairaja has recused himself from the judge bench considering the appeals petitions filed by the directors of the local agent of the 'X-Press Pearl' ship which caught fire in the seas off Colombo Harbour and resulted in the country's worst maritime disaster.

The relevant petitions have been filed seeking the suspending of hearing of a criminal case before the Colombo High Court in this regard.

Seven petitions filed by the directors of the Sea Consortium Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., the Sri Lankan agent of the 'X-Press Pearl' ship operator were taken up on Tuesday (07) before the three-member Supreme Court judge bench consisting of Justices S. Thurairaja, Janak De Silva and Priyantha Fernando, Ada Derana...