15 September 2022 09:39 am Views - 124
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda
A lawyer who had been charged under the Motor Traffic Act for tooting vehicle horns for the popular rhythm of ‘Kaputu kaak kaak was yesterday ordered to be discharged from the case by Colombo Additional Magistrate M.S.Prabhakaran.
The Fort Police filed charges against Attorney-at-Law Dushmantha Weeraratne under section 155(2) of the Motor Traffic Act for using other than a horn sounding a single note at Galle Face green on Friday (9).
Colombo Additional Magistrate strictly advised the Fort Police not to act in a biased manner when framing charges and emphasized the necessity of understanding the law prior to instituting legal action.
A group of lawyers including President’s Counsels Saliya Peiris, Sarath Jayamanne PC and Senior Counsel Kaushalya Nawaratne appearing for the lawyer challenged the maintainability of the charges against their client.
While drawing the attention of Jana Ghosha case (Amaratunga v Sirimal),defence counsel highlighted the importance of allowing people to exercise their freedom of speech and expression including their right to dissent.