The Supreme Court has granted leave to proceed with an appeal filed by the Attorney General challenging a Court of Appeal ruling that invalidated a letter naming IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon as a suspect in a criminal investigation related to attacking “Gotagogama”.
The three-judge Supreme Court bench, after considering submissions from both parties, allowed the petition to be taken up for hearing. The court also issued an interim order suspending the operation of the Court of Appeal’s decision until the Supreme Court delivers its final verdict.
The contested ruling was delivered earlier this year by a Court of Appeal bench headed by then-President of the Court, Justice Nishshanka Bandula Karunaratne. That judgment declared null and void a letter issued by the Attorney General on April 19, 2023, to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which named then-Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon as a suspect in an ongoing probe.
In response, the Attorney General filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeal’s ruling was legally flawed and sought to have it overturned. (Newswire)