Supreme Court revives indictments against ex-Minister Tennakoon

Colombo, March 31 (Daily Mirror) - The Supreme Court today set aside the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in 2020, which quashed the operation of indictments filed against former Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon before the Kandy High Court over an alleged murder committed in 1999.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Mahinda Samayawardhena, Priyantha Fernando and Sampath B. Abayakoon, delivered this judgment in relation to an appeal filed by the Attorney General challenging the legality of the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The Attorney General’s appeal follows the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision to quash the indictments filed before the Kandy High Court, citing that the charges were instituted in contravention of the law.

“The Court of Appeal erred in quashing, by way of certiorari, the second non-summary inquiry and the resultant indictment,” Justice Samayawardhena observed.

The Attorney General had originally filed indictments against Minister Tennakoon over an incident where a man was shot dead and another was injured in Matale during an election campaign in 1999.

President’s Counsel Navin Marapana appeared for Janaka Bandara Tennakoon while Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara appeared for the Attorney General.