Committee led by SC judge appointed to investigate Deshabandu Tennakoon
April 23, 2025 04:48 pm
A Committee of Inquiry headed by a Supreme Court Judge has been appointed to investigate the allegations of misconduct and abuse of power against Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon.
The committee is chaired by Supreme Court Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, with Justice Neil Iddawala and the Chairman of the National Police Commission (NPC), Lalith Ekanayake, serving as its members.
A resolution to appoint a Committee of Inquiry for the removal of Deshabandu Tennakoon from his position as IGP due to alleged misconduct and abuse of power was passed in Parliament on April 08.
A total of 151 Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favour of the resolution, presented by National People’s Power MP Lakmali Hemachandra, with none voting against it.
While expressing her views in Parliament, the MP proposed that a Committee of Inquiry be appointed to remove Tennakoon from his position as IGP on the grounds of misconduct and abuse of office.
Accordingly, the Resolution to appoint a Committee of Inquiry in terms of Section 5 of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act, No. 5 of 2002, to remove Deshabandu Tennakoon from the office of the Inspector-General of Police for misconduct and gross abuse of power of his office in terms of Sections 3(d) and 3(e) read with Section 5 of the said Act was unanimously passed without a debate in Parliament on April 08.
According to Standing Orders, the Chief Justice is required to appoint a judge, while a professional who is agreed upon by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition must also be named to the committee.
According to provisions, the Chairman of the National Police Commission must be included as a mandatory member of the committee.
Once the committee is formally established, the investigation is expected to begin immediately.
