Permission granted for the trial of contempt of court charges against Wimal Gammanpila, Dilith, and 6 others.

The Court of Appeal has ordered its Registrar to take further steps regarding the contempt of court complaint filed against six persons, including Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, due to statements made during a Satyagraha held against the arrest of former Director of State Intelligence Service, Retired Major General Suresh Salley, and subsequent statements related to the case.

This order was issued when the complaint, referred by the Fort Magistrate's Court, Colombo, was called on September 8th before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysooriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.

Here, charges have been leveled against the six gentlemen: Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Dilith Jayaweera, Sugeeshwara Bandara, Asanka Navaratne, and Mahinda Pathirana. It had been revealed during investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department that certain statements allegedly made by them during the Satyagraha held in front of the Colombo Fort Railway Station from July 7th to 15th took the form of criticizing the judicial process, and facts regarding this had been reported to the Fort Magistrate's Court.

This process takes place in accordance with Section 10 of the Contempt of Court, Tribunal or Institution Act No. 8 of 2024. According to that section, the Court of Appeal has the power to consider such a complaint referred by a court of first instance, and by examining the documents and evidence therein, the court decides whether there are sufficient grounds (prima facie case) to proceed with a contempt of court case.

If the Court of Appeal is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds to proceed with such a case, as the next step, a 'Rule' (an official notice) will be issued to the relevant individuals, instructing them to respond to the charge. As stated in the Act, this written charge sheet, bearing the Registrar's signature, must be personally delivered to the relevant individuals, and a date must be set for the hearing of the charges.

In this trial, the defendants will have the right to a fair trial, and those accused will have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses presented by the Attorney General, as well as to present their case by submitting affidavits or other evidence from their side. Thereafter, the final decision on whether the charge of contempt of court is proven or not will be made by the Court of Appeal, and the relevant Act also provides for an appeal to be filed with the Supreme Court against the order given by the Court of Appeal.