The Supreme Court has ruled that former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon and two others have violated the fundamental rights of current Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne and current CID Deputy Inspector General Shani Abeysekara during an investigation into a complaint filed over the Easter Sunday terror attacks during the last presidential election period.

Accordingly, the judgment stated that former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Palitha Siriwardena, who filed the relevant complaint, must pay compensation of Rs. 50,000 each to petitioners Shani Abeysekara and Ravi Seneviratne. Meanwhile, former Chief Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Induka de Silva, who conducted the relevant investigation, was ordered to pay Rs. 10,000 each to the two petitioners.

The judgment further stated that the complaint lodged with the CID by then-DIG Palitha Siriwardena was a malicious complaint made with a political motive, and that the decision to commence an investigation based on the complaint had violated the fundamental rights of petitioners Shani Abeysekara and Ravi Seneviratne.

The judgment was delivered by Supreme Court Justice Gihan Kulatunga, with the concurrence of Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justice Achala Wengappuli, Ada Derana reporter said.

The Supreme Court issued the order after considering a fundamental rights petition filed by Shani Abeysekara and Ravi Seneviratne during the last presidential election period, seeking an order preventing their unlawful arrest in connection with investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks.