Don't arrest! Misleading facts in the petition filed by Gota!

The Attorney General informed the Court of Appeal that the facts contained in the writ petition filed by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, seeking an order to prevent his arrest or detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act based on information revealed by Channel 4 regarding the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, were entirely false and concealed the truth. Additional Solicitor General and President's Counsel Suharshi Herath, appearing for the Attorney General, pointed out that the petitioner had not approached the court with clean hands and had attempted to mislead the court by suppressing true information.

These facts were revealed when the petition was considered before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysooriya and Justice Sarath Dissanayake.

The Additional Solicitor General, commenting on this petition filed against the Inspector General of Police and the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Mr. Shani Abeysekera, among others, stated that criminal cases have already been filed against ten main responsible individuals in accordance with the recommendations of the Presidential Commission that investigated the Easter attack. She also informed the court that the trials related to former IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Secretary of Defence Hemasiri Fernando have already concluded.

The State Counsel stated that Mr. Shani Abeysekera, the second respondent in this case, has no personal animosity towards the petitioner, and clarified that Mr. Abeysekera was transferred by the National Police Commission, with no involvement from the petitioner. Furthermore, she emphasized that although the petitioner claimed he had never met Azad Maulana, who is connected to this incident, investigating officers have submitted photographs of the two together to the Magistrate's Court, which clearly shows how the petitioner has concealed facts from the court.

The Additional Solicitor General also requested that this petition be referred to the Supreme Court under Article 126 of the Constitution, as the President's Counsel, on behalf of the petitioner, had stated more than forty times that the petitioner's fundamental rights were being violated and his freedom restricted. After considering the submissions, the bench decided to postpone further hearing of the petition until the 23rd.

Through this petition filed by Attorney Sanath Wijewardena, the former President states that he learned through the media that the Fort Magistrate's Court had issued an order prohibiting him from leaving the country. In this context, he claims there is a high risk of him being arrested and detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act at any moment, based on the revelations made by Channel 4.

The petitioner points out that since Mr. Shani Abeysekera, who was arrested on charges of fabricating evidence during the petitioner's tenure as Head of State and was subject to the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on the Easter attack, is currently serving as the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, a fair or impartial investigation cannot be expected from him. The former President states that any arrest made without any evidence linking him to the Easter attack would be contrary to natural justice and illegal. He requests an interim injunction to prevent his arrest until the conclusion of the petition hearing, a permanent writ order, and for the Presidential Commission reports on the Easter attack to be summoned to court. During this court session, President's Counsels Ali Sabry and Romesh de Silva appeared for the petitioner, while Additional Solicitor General and President's Counsel Suharshi Herath appeared for the Attorney General.