The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has summoned a hearing on November 13 to verify facts in a fundamental rights petition requesting recovery of compensation paid unlawfully to former ministers whose homes and property were damaged after the attack on the “Gota Go Gama” protest site at Galle Face on May 9, 2022.
The petition was filed by Dr. Ravindranath Dabare, a social activist and lawyer, seeking an order to reclaim compensation funds that were allegedly obtained illegally by former government ministers.
The petition was heard before a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Mahinda Samayawardhena and Sobitha Rajakaruna.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Defence Secretary Retired Major General Kamal Gunaratne, former Chief of Defence Staff Shavendra Silva, former IGP Chandana Wickramaratne, former Ministers of Public Security Tiran Alles and Prasanna Ranatunga, current Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya, current Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijayapala, and the Attorney General are among a total of 15 individuals named as respondents in the case.
The petitioner claims that following the May 9 attack, the previous government paid Rs. 1.22 billion in compensation to 43 individuals, including former ministers whose homes and property were damaged, pointing out that this was revealed in Parliament on February 5 by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa.
The petitioner argues that this constitutes a serious misuse of public funds, noting that even in cases of natural disasters, the maximum compensation per person is Rs. 2.5 million.
As such, the petitioner requested the Supreme Court to declare that these payments violated legal procedures and fundamental human rights, issue an order to recover the unlawfully paid compensation, and ensure that any future compensation is based on proper valuation and legal standards. (Newswire)