The Colombo District Court has extended by one day the interim injunction issued against the screening of ‘Usaviya Nihadai’ (Silence in the Courts), a documentary film by award winning film director Prasanna Vithanage.
District Judge M.A. Gunawardena stated that the decision on whether the interim injunction will be withdrawn or not will be announced tomorrow (21).
The Colombo District Court issued the injunction, after a petition was filed against the film by former Magistrate Lenin Ratnayake.
The petitioner states that the film, which was scheduled to be screened at theaters starting from October 6, is based on a false news report which claims that he had sexually assaulted a woman and that the movie.
Therefore the former magistrate requested the court to issue an order preventing the screening of the film as it would cause defame to him and the country’s judicial system.
On October 5, the district court initially issued the interim injunction effective till yesterday (19). However, when the case was taken up yesterday the court postponed giving a decision till today (20).
The 57-minute documentary, screened last week at the India International Centre, Delhi, is based on the incident in June 1996 where a sitting Judicial Magistrate had allegedly sexually assaulted a woman.
