The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has responded to the protest staged outside the residence of BASL President Saliya Pieris, PC this morning (24 March).

The BASL deemed the protest staged against PC Saliya Pieiris’s decision to represent infamous underworld figure ‘Harak Kata’ a serious hindrance to his right to represent a client, “a professional right which has been safeguarded by law”. 

In an attempt to support their argument, the Bar Association cited the Supreme Court verdict of the landmark case Wjiesundara Mudiyanselage Naveen Nayantha Bandara Wijesundara v Siriwardena and others, and Section 41 of the Judicature Act (Rights of Representation).

Thus, in a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), C. D. Wickramaratne, the BASL ordered the IGP to ensure the safety of PC Pieris, and that his duties as an Attorney-at-Law remain unhindered.

Earlier today,  a group of persons staged a protest before the residence of PC Pieris’s  residence against his decision to represent underworld kingpin ‘Harak Kata’.

The protesters claimed that notorious crime lord Nadun Chinthaka, alias ‘Harak Kata’, had murdered their relatives, and they, the families of the victims, are yet to receive justice from both the police and the courts.

Thus, they protested that in such a background, it is unjustifiable for the PC, who also serves as the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), to represent him in court.