Web journalist found guilty of contempt of court

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda   

The Court of Appeal has found web journalist Desmond Chathuranga De Alwis guilty of contempt of court for uploading a web article containing false accusations against the judges of the Court of Appeal.   

A three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna, Menaka Wijesundera, and Mayadunne Corea, held that the charges against the accused were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The court further ruled that the accused should be punished for such contempt. However, contempt of court proceedings were conducted in the absence of the accused, as he had evaded the court and left the country while a magisterial inquiry was still pending.   

The Attorney General had filed a rule against the web journalist under Article 105 (3) of the Constitution based on a web article uploaded by him on lankanewsweb.org on April 30, 2020, making accusations of Bribery and Corruption against the judges of the Court of Appeal.   

Additional Solicitor General Dilan Ratnayake PC with Deputy Solicitor General Chaya Sri Nammuni appeared for the Attorney General.