important judgements

JAYASINGHE vs SAMARAWICKREMA AND OTHERS S.C. APPLICATION NO. 157/91

The petitioner was arrested on 23.07.91 (though Police gave the date as 06.06.91) and taken to the Eheliyagoda Police Station, and questioned about suspected links there until 07.08.91, when he was taken to the Deraniyagala Police Station where he was tortured. The petitioner had disappeared after 23.07.91. On learning he was at Eheliyagoda Police Station the petitioner’s mother and father had visited him daily at the Police Station, Eheliyagoda between 26.07.81 and 07.08.91 and there he had not been assaulted. On 29.07.91 the petitioner’s mother had complained to the International…

RATNASIRI AND ANOTHER v. DEVASURENDRAN, INSPECTOR OF POLICE, SLAVE ISLAND AND OTHERS S.C. APPLICATION NO. 4/91 WITH S.C. APPLICATION NO. 3/91

The Incidents of assault and Inhuman treatm ent com plained of which w ere a sequel to travel in a bus, have been established. The Police Officers, acting under the colour of office assaulted the petitioner and subjected diem to inhuman treatm ent but the identity of the p articu lar officers who could have been personally responsible has not been established. Hence only the State would be obliged to pay compensation. Of consent, the above two applications were consolidated and heard together. The petitioner in application No. 4 (“1st…

SUBBASH CHANDRA FERNANDO vs KAPILARATNE, OFFICER-IN-CHARGE, POLICE STATION, GAMPAHA S.C. APPLICATION NO. 1/91

The petitioner is a Medical Practitioner with a MBBS degree from the University of Ceylon. He was arrested on 19.07.89 on a complaint that he had assaulted Dr. Gunatilaka, Surgeon, Base Hospital, Gampaha and obstructed the carrying on of the service at the hospital in breach of Regulation and e Emergency Regulations. The complaint against the petitioner was that he had assaulted Dr. Gunatilaka twice on 19.07.89 first’at the path lab, a private medical establishment, and thereafter at the Base Hospital, Gampaha. Although he was arrested for such conduct under…

WIMAL VIDYAMANI vs LT. COL. JAYATILLEKE AND OTHERS S.C. APPLICATION NO. 852/91 SPL

The petitioner who was the Mill Security Officer at the Embilipitiya Mill of the National Paper Corporation was arrested and detained by the Police under emergency regulations for being allegedly concerned in a subversive J.V.P attack on the Paper Mill. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Pelawatte Detention Camp and detained under a Preventive Detention Order. The petitioner had an exemplary record of service and had won the confidence of his employer. There was no material to warrant the suspicion that the petitioner had J.V.P. links or was concerned in…

FAIZ V. ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND OTHERS SC APPLICATION NO. 89/91

On 26 April 1991 about 9.30 a.m. the petitioner along with 4 game guards had arrested several persons who had been detected illicitly felling timber in the Minneriya – Giritale Native Reserve and taken into custody, a hand tractor and some carts loaded with logged timber and was bringing them along when the 6th respondent C. S. Sooriyaratchi, a Member of Parliament for the Polonnaruwa District came travelling in a jeep and intercepted the petitioner at a place called Deke Ela and wanted the men released. The petitioner said he…

RATNAPALA v. DHARMASIRI, HEADQUARTERS INSPECTOR, RATNAPURA AND OTHERS SC APPLICATION 162/91

respondents had assaulted and brutally tortured the petitioner over a period of three weeks. The injuries suffered by the petitioner were irreparable, particularly in view of the fact that one of his lungs had to be surgically removed. The 1st (Hector Dharmasiri, Headquarters Inspector) and 2nd (I.P. Gunasekera, officer-in-charge), respondents deliberately encouraged, tolerated and acquiesced in the acts of torture and inhuman treatment inflicted on the petitioner on whom the J.M.O. found 26 injuries. Hence the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th respondents who have been identified by the petitioner along…

Sirisena and others vs Ernest Perera and Others judgement was given by supreme court S. C. APPLICATION NO. 14/90

The 1st and 2nd Petitioners were engaged in carpentry work at Arijapala’s residence in Bullers Lane between 02 and 08 April. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Petitioners were arrested by the Police when they visited the Corona’s Court at the General Hospital Colombo on 21 April 1990 to see the 1st aid 2nd Petitioners who had been arrested by the Police and produced before the Coroner to give evidence at the inquest. The 3rd to 5th Petitioners were detained by the Police and so deprived of their liberty from 11.30…

Chandra Kalyani Perera and Another vs Captain Siriwardana and Others, the judgement was given by supreme court S.C. APPLICATION NQ. 27/90

she was arrested with another one in emergency regulation by SL army near the beragala camp. the petitioner who is a married woman with three male children. She was engaged in a transport business in Badulla District and owned several vehicles. Her husband is a processing engineer at Abu Dhabi. “The first petitioner complains of being manacled, beaten with a hose, hung by her manacles and beaten until she confessed. In addition 1st respondent wanted to have sex with her”. the judgement was Application allowed and taken into consideration the…

WIJENAIKE v. AIR LANKA LIMITED AND OTHERS |1990 1SLR 293

The petitioner joined Air Lanka as a Cadet Pilot on 10.06.84. He left the country on 22.12.87 with a view to employment with Gull Air having applied on 19.12.87 (or 03 years no pay leave. Leave however was refused. On 04.02.88 the petitioner returned and on 22.02.88 applied to be rostered for duty. This was not allowed. Air Lanka by letter dated 06.05.88 informed petitioner that he had vacated post. The petitioner’s position was that he had only prospected for foreign employment and he had made a separate application for…

SAMAN V. LEELADASA AND ANOTHER, the important judgement was given by supreme court S. C. APPLICATION NO. 4/88

The petitioner was arrested on 29.07.87 and produced before the Elpitiya Magistrate on 18.10.87.and remanded to the Galle prison on his orders made from time to time. While in prison custody on 1.12.87 the petitioner was bathing at a water tank near the prison cell when the 1st respondent was alleged to have assaulted the petitioner saying he was not entitled to bathe there at that time. after few years the judgement was published and it was the Application allowed and Compensation ordered Rs. 15000 for petitioner. this was a…