Supreme Court to hear appeal in Krishanthy murder case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 July 2003, 18:52 GMT]
The appeal of six Sri Lanka Army soldiers sentenced to death by the High Court Trial-at-Bar in the Krishanthy Kumarasamy rape and murder case will be heard on November 4 this year before a five member bench of the Supreme Court, legal sources said, adding that the Chief Justice, Mr.Sarath N.Silva, said he would not serve in the bench for "personal reasons."

The appeal case came up for inquiry before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court Wednesday. The bench comprised the Chief Justice Mr.Sarath Silva, Justices Ms Shiranee Bandaranaike and Mr. Asoka de Silva. After a preliminary inquiry, the bench fixed the inquiry into the appeal for November 4 before a five-member bench, and the composition of the bench will be notified later, sources said.

The six soldiers were charged with the rape and murder of Krishanthy and murder of another four people in the year 1995 when the Sri Lanka Army captured Jaffna district in Operation Riviressa. All the six soldiers were sentenced to death by the three High Court judges at the trial-at-bar held in Colombo, sources said.

The six accused filed the appeal in the Supreme Court following an unsuccessful attempt at the Court of Appeal, legal sources said.