Court to hear FR petition from Kadirgamar-case detainee

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 February 2006, 18:01 GMT]
The Supreme Court Thursday granted leave to a suspect in the Kadirgamar assassination case to proceed with his Fundamental Rights (FR) application for the alleged infringement of his right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. Mr.Sivarasan Sivaranjan, one of the suspects arrested and remanded in this case has filed this application seeking the court to order his immediate release and to order the State to pay compensation of Rs 500K to him, legal sources said.

The petitioner-detainee says in his FR application that there is no ground or, evidence to connect him to the said assassination or, to justify his arrest and detention, either under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), or Emergency Regulations (ER), legal sources said.

The petitioner states that the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD), has no material to connect him to an offence either, under the PTA or, the ER, and that his continuous incarceration is arbitrary and unreasonable. The petitioner has sought a declaration from Court that his FR- freedom from arrest and detention- has been violated, legal sources said.

The petitioner has cited CCD Superintendent Sarath Lugoda, Inspector Nuwan Wedasinghe, Defense Ministry Secretary, Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General as respondents, legal sources said.

According to the FR petition, another suspect Thiruchelvam now under detention, had purchased a SIM card from the petitioner who had been in business since 2003 which provides mobile phone connections, transport services, air and sea parcel distribution services, providing travel and tour services, typesetting and telecommunication services, legal sources said.

The CCD sent a message to the peititoner-suspect requesting him to report to its office. When the petitioner went there, CCD officials informed him that the mobile phone, allegedly used by the assassins of Kadirgamar, had a SIM card, which was purchased by another suspect Thiruchelvam from the petitioner-suspect. Hence the petitioner was arrested and detained, but no detention order was shown to him, the FR petition states.

Three-member Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Ms Shiranee A.Bandaranaike, T.B.Weerasuriya and N.G.Amaratunge after preliminary inquiry held Thursday granted leave to the petitioner to proceed with this FR application and instructed the respondents to file their objection within six weeks and counter affidavits within three weeks thereafter, legal sources said.

Counsel Mr.Saliya Peiris appeared for the petitioner. State Counsel Harshika de Silva appeared for the Attorney General, legal sources said.