Court of Appeal quashes Fort Magistrate’s summons on SDIG Deshabandu

… also invalidates AG’s move to name top cop as suspect in May 09 attack

The Court of Appeal yesterday (26) quashed the summons issued by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Thennakoon, asking him to appear before courts as a suspect in an ongoing case over Rs. 17.8 million in cash found at the President’s House during Aragalaya on June 09 2022.

The Appeal Court bench comprising Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and A. Marikkar issued the ruling on the writ petition filed by the Senior DIG.

The court also issued a writ order invalidating a letter issued by the Attorney General to name SDIG Tennakoon as a suspect in respect of an attack on the “GotaGoGama” protest site at the Galle Face Green on 09 May 2022.

SDIG Tennakoon filed a writ petition calling for a court order to prevent the hearing of a case against him before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. The SDIG stated that the summons issued by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court ordering him to appear before the court in relation to the private complaint filed was against the law.

The private complaint in question was filed against SDIG Tennakoon pertaining to the money found by the Aragalaya activists at the President’s House in Fort, Colombo on 09 July 2022.

The funds were later handed over to the Fort Police, and thereafter the Colombo Fort Magistrate called for a report on the investigation into the matter owing to certain discrepancies.

SDIG Tennakoon also filed a petition before the Court of Appeal seeking the annulment of a letter sent by the Attorney General to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) asking it to name him as a suspect in the case pertaining to the attack on the ‘GotaGoGama’ protest site.