The Supreme Court has ruled that six officers of the Kottawa Police violated the fundamental rights of a private bus operator by unlawfully arresting, assaulting, and falsely accusing him of possessing heroin.
The ruling, delivered on Monday (13) by Justice Menaka Wijesundara with the concurrence of Justices Yasantha Kodagoda and Janak de Silva, ordered the officers to personally pay Rs. 1 million in compensation to the petitioner.
The petitioner, Vithanage Sunil, told the court that he is a private bus owner operating two buses on the Kottawa–Pettah route. He stated that on the night of July 9, 2016, while returning home after meeting a friend, he was confronted by police officers who pointed a gun at his head, forced him to kneel, and assaulted him before falsely accusing him of possessing heroin.
He was later produced before the Homagama Magistrate’s Court and remanded, but a medical report submitted to the court confirmed that he had sustained injuries to his face, chest, forehead, and wrist while in police custody. A subsequent report also stated that he had no history of drug use.
Justice Wijesundara, in delivering the judgment, observed that the petitioner had been subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment in violation of Article 11 of the Constitution. The Court found that the officers had failed to produce credible evidence to justify the arrest or the drug charge, and that the explanation they provided created suspicion
The officers named in the ruling include then-OIC L.P.B. Samarasinghe, Inspector Cyril Perera, Sub-Inspector Premasiri, and Police Constables Nandana Piyal, Sampath, and Chandra Niroshan. (Newswire)
