15 December 2023 09:33 am Views - 366
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda
The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the National Police Commission (NPC) and other relevant authorities to take appropriate disciplinary action against newly appointed Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon and two other police officers since they are responsible for violating Fundamental Rights of an individual while being detained at the Mirihana Police Station in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ordered Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon and three others including two police officers to pay a compensation of Rs. 2 million out of their personal funds to the petitioner, a former army soldier. Each respondent was ordered to pay a compensation of Rs.500,000 to the petitioner within six months from the date of judgement.
The judgement was delivered by Justice S. Thurairaja with Justices Kumudini Wickremasinghe and Priyantha Fernando agreeing.
The Supreme Court held that respondents including Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon have violated the fundamental rights of petitioner W. Ranjith Sumangala by his illegal arrest, detention and subjection to torture at the Mirihana Police Station, which was under the supervision of Deshabandu Tennakoon.
A private party, fourth respondent Ajith Wanasundera (a retired Sergeant Major of the Army) who was involved in the matter was also held liable and required to pay compensation. The State was directed to pay a compensation of Rs.100,000 to the petitioner.
In cases of this nature, where the violations are grave, while the State must absolutely take responsibility, I do not see it sufficient to merely impose the liability on the State. I do not see it just and equitable to impose upon the taxpayer the burden of compensating for the transgressions of errant officials. Having borne the burden of their earnings over the years, must the taxpayer compensate for their misdeeds as well?, Justice Thurairaja questioned.
An affidavit had been filed before court to support that Deshabandu Tennakoon, then a Superintendent of Police, had paid a visit to the place where the Petitioner and several others were detained on December 17, 2010. The affidavit further states that Tennakoon himself beat the Petitioner with a ‘three-wheel rubber band’ after stripping him naked and ordering him to rub Siddhalepa on his genitalia. “I find the 5th Respondent Tennakoon to have tortured the Petitioner in violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 11 of the Constitution. For this very reason, and by the very fact, I find the 5th Respondent to have further violated the Petitioner’s rights under Article 12(1) of the Constitution,” Justice Thurairaja added. The Supreme Court held that upon the perusal of the evidence presented to the Court by the parties, there appear to be several inconsistencies with the respondents’ narration of the incidents of this case.
The Petitioner was then taken to the Dambara Cemetery and was questioned by the Respondents about one Chinthaka. The 2nd Respondent Inspector Bhathiya questioned the Petitioner whether he had retained his gun from the military .The 2nd Respondent had threatened the Petitioner that he would bury the Petitioner alive in the cemetery, causing the Petitioner to fear for his life.