Appeals filed by defendants in Vidya murder moved to end-January

The appeals filed by the defendants who were given the death penalty over the 2015 abduction, gang rape and murder of schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya, seeking their acquittal has been ordered to be recalled on January 22, 2024.

This order was issued when the case was taken up before the three-member Supreme Court judge bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Achala Vengapulli and Shiran Gunaratne today (Jan. 09).

There, the Supreme Court also ordered the petitioning party to hand over the copies of Sinhala language translations related to the case, to the Attorney General.

On September 27, 2017, the Jaffna High Court, which heard the case filed over the abduction, gang rape and murder of 18-year-old schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya, gave the death penalty to the 07 accused including the chief suspect in the case ‘Swiss Kumar’.  
 
Delivering the much-anticipated verdict after the widely publicised trial came to an end, the three-member judge bench had sentenced the 07 suspects to death and also ordered them to pay Rs. 1 million as compensation to the victim’s family.

In addition to the death penalty, the suspects were also sentenced to a further 30 years in prison.

Sivaloganathan Vidya, an 18-year-old schoolgirl from Punkudutivu, was abducted, gang-raped and murdered in Jaffna, while returning home from school on May 13, 2015. 

However, the appealing party seeks an order from the Supreme Court that the relevant death penalty be declared to have been imposed in violation of the law and to acquit them of the charges.