Supreme Court orders recall of appeals in Sivaloganathan Vidya Case, sets date for acquittal review

By AJA Abeynayake

The appeals of defendants given the death penalty for the 2015 abduction, gang rape, and murder of Jaffna schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya were directed to be reconsidered on Jan 22.

This directive was issued during a session before the three-member Supreme Court judge bench, including Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Achala Vengapulli, and Shiran Gunaratne, on Tuesday (9).

In the same hearing, the Supreme Court mandated the petitioning party to provide Sinhala language translations related to the case to the Attorney General.

On September 27, 2017, the Jaffna High Court, concluding the highly publicized trial over Vidya’s abduction, gang rape, and murder, imposed the death penalty on the seven accused, including the chief suspect ‘Swiss Kumar.’ The three-member judge bench not only sentenced the individuals to death but also ordered them to pay one million rupees in compensation to the victim’s family. Additionally, a 30-year prison term was given.

Sivaloganathan Vidya, an 18-year-old schoolgirl from Punkudutivu, was tragically abducted, gang-raped, and murdered in Jaffna on May 13, 2015, while returning home from school.The appealing party now seeks a Supreme Court order declaring the death penalty’s imposition as a violation of the law, thereby acquitting them of the charges.