Lawyers’ Collective concerned over appointing acting IGP while having pending cases

17 December 2023 08:56 pm Views - 2212

Colombo, Dec 17 (Daily Mirror) - The Lawyers’ Collective, a prominent legal advocacy group in Sri Lanka, has raised concerns over appointing Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon as the acting IGP while having a number of pending cases against him.

Former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Upul Jayasuriya PC questioned as to how the Constitutional Council granted its approval to appoint Deshabandu Tennakoon as Acting IGP when there was a pending case before the Supreme Court for torturing an ex-army soldier. 

Jayasuriya raised these concerns during a media conference organised by the Lawyers' Collective on Saturday (16) in Colombo.

While expressing his views regarding the recent Supreme Court judgement, Jayasuriya said that acting IGP Tennakoon had some pending cases while he was appointed to the post, and that he has no public confidence anymore.

He underscored that it is the duty of the Attorney General to frame charges against Deshabandu Tennakoon and others under the Torture Act since they were found guilty of torturing an individual several years ago.

Prof. Savitri Goonesekere questioned under what circumstances this acting IGP was appointed by the President and approved by the Constitutional Council.

The Lawyers' Collective called upon the President and the Constitutional Council to fulfill the public trust
and reiterated that the integrity and eligibility of persons to hold high office in trust for the people should not be confused.