The Supreme Court has ruled that the arrest and detention of student activist Wasantha Mudalige under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) violated his fundamental rights.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday (19) by Supreme Court Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna, with the concurrence of Justices Arjuna Obeyesekere and Priyantha Fernando, following a petition filed on behalf of Mudalige by Attorney-at-Law Manjula Balasuriya.
Mudalige, the former convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), was arrested after a protest held on August 18, 2022, during the ‘Aragalaya’ period. His detention under the PTA was challenged through the petition.
Delivering the verdict after prolonged hearings, the court held that the respondents had failed to present sufficient grounds to justify detaining Mudalige under the PTA.
The judgment also noted that the allegations against him under the PTA were not proven before court.
Accordingly, the bench ruled that the decision to arrest and detain Mudalige under the PTA could not be justified and amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 12(1) and 13(1) of the Constitution.
The court further held that the violations were committed by the Officer-in-Charge of the Peliyagoda Special Investigation Unit, Chief Inspector W.G.A.K. Gamage.
Former Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne, former Western Province Senior Deputy Inspector General Deshabandu Tennakoon, and former Criminal Investigation Department Director Kavinda Piyasekera were among those named as respondents in the petition. (NewsWire)