Lawsuit Against Private Secretary for Posting Janaka Ratnayake's Extremely Private Life on Facebook

 Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama on the 8th ordered the release of two respondents from a case filed concerning the dissemination of private information belonging to former Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Janaka Ratnayake, on social media networks.

Although Oshala Herath and Jamuni Kamantha Thushara were named as respondents in this case,

the Magistrate took steps to release them, stating that there were insufficient reasons or factual confirmations to name them as such.

This petition was filed through a panel of lawyers, alleging that Mr. Janaka Ratnayake's former private secretary and others had released or attempted to release highly private information related to his life onto the internet. The case was filed under Section 24 of the Online Safety Act No. 9 of 2024, and it was revealed in court that a preceding magistrate, acting on a previous request by the petitioner, had issued a conditional order to eight respondents, including P.I.A. Gayathri Bimaba, Yasalal Perera, and Kavishwara Gunaratne.

However, after considering the relevant facts, the Chief Magistrate, who ordered the release of two respondents, ordered the case to be called again in two weeks. Accordingly, the case is scheduled to be recalled on January 05, 2026, for further court proceedings.