Permission for Gotabhaya to give online testimony in the Lalith Kugan case

The Jaffna Magistrate's Court today (02) granted permission for former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has been named as a witness in the ongoing trial related to the disappearance of Lalith and Kugan in the Achchuveli area of Jaffna, to give evidence before the court via online technology. This decision was announced today when the long-running case was called before the Jaffna Magistrate.

The court pointed out that this step was taken after considering the concerns raised regarding the former President's security, as he is not a suspect in the case but only a witness.

This incident is based on the disappearance of Mr. Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Mr. Kugan Muruganandan, who were activists of the Frontline Socialist Party, in Jaffna on December 09, 2011. The two disappeared while organizing a special press conference with family members of the disappeared in the Northern Province. Subsequently, their relatives took legal action by filing a Habeas Corpus petition through lawyer Mr. Nuwan Bopage.

During the time of these disappearances, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in this country. Due to the necessity of directly inquiring into the overall security situation during that period and the disappearance of these two activists, it had been previously ordered to summon him as a witness to the Jaffna court.

However, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had previously filed a petition before the Court of Appeal, stating that his life could be threatened by former members of the LTTE organization if he appeared before the Jaffna court to give evidence. The Court of Appeal, having considered those facts, issued an interim injunction preventing him from appearing before the Jaffna court. Subsequently, with his assumption of the presidency in 2019, these legal proceedings had to be temporarily suspended under constitutional presidential immunity.

Subsequently, with his resignation from the presidency in 2022, that legal immunity ceased, and accordingly, the legal possibility of summoning him as a witness once again arose. In such a context, the former President had also informed the Supreme Court through his lawyers that he was prepared to give evidence before the Magistrate's Court on July 30, 2025.

The Jaffna Magistrate, having considered the points raised by his lawyers and the security reasons presented in court today, finally decided to take evidence via the online method. Accordingly, to determine how this evidence-taking process will be conducted online and the related legal steps, the court has ordered this case to be called again on June 19 next month.