Supreme Court’s seven-judge bench has granted leave to proceed with the 12 Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed against IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando over the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The 12 FR petitions against the IGP and the former Defence Secretary for allegedly failing to prevent the coordinated terror attacks that claimed the lives of hundreds on the 21st of April were taken up before Supreme Court’s full bench today (02).
The judge bench chaired by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya consists of Justices Buwaneka Aluwihare, Sisira de Abrew, Priyantha Jayewardene, Prasanna Jayewardene, L.T.B. Dehideniya and Murdu Fernando sat for the petition hearing.
Several of the respondents cited in the petitions, including the IGP Pujith Jayasundara, Hemasiri Fernando and Deputy Inspector General of Police Priyalal Dissanayake have been ordered to submit their objections against the petitions before November 8th.
The petitions were filed by 12 parties including the Sri Lanka Bar Association (BASL), a businessman engaged in the tourism sector named Janak Sri Vidanage and Saman Nandana Sirimanne, a father who had lost his son and daughter in the attack on April 21st.
The petitioners accuse that the IGP and the former Defense Secretary of infringing the fundamental rights of the people by failing to prevent the terror attacks on churches and hotels even when intelligence information had forewarned.
