We are men of integrity: Attorney General

- By Hafeel Farisz

The 27th Attorney General of Sri Lanka, Palitha Fernando PC in a one on one discussion with the Daily Mirror refuted all allegations and assertions to the effect that the Department has been politicised and runs according to the whims and fancies of a powerful few.

“This department is not politicised, there is not an iota of truth in the assertion that officials of this department would act based on any political interferences. I could assure you that during my time at the helm of this department there has never been an instance where anyone tried to interfere with the work that we do” he said.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Fernando emphasised that his duty is towards the public of the country.

“We are all men of integrity and all of us have a conscience, if there was sound evidence against some person how could we withdraw a case or release them on a phone call?. We have never received such calls and would never give into such interference if there was any” he said.

" This department is not politicised, there is not an iota of truth in the assertion that officials of this department would act based on any political interferences "

“I have nothing more to achieve and there is nothing more for me to look forward to. There are two cornerstones that have guided me throughout my life-They are my longing for a good night’s sleep and a peaceful death. My duty is towards the public of this country and I will do my duty towards them with utmost dignity and perseverance” he said.

The Attorney General functions as the Principal Law officer of the state, heading a department comprising a Solicitor General, three Additional Solicitor Generals, Senior State Counsels, and State Counsels.

“We are not bothered as to who the accused is, the Police is in charge of investigating a crime, thereafter once a file reaches us we take decisions accordingly” he said.
The procedure adopted by the Department is when a file reaches the Attorney General’s Department, it is registered and sent to an allocating officer who is a senior officer in the Department.  The senior officer allocates it to a State Counsel for necessary action. The State Counsel studies the case and submits a report to his supervising officer who is invariably a Senior State Counsel. The report shall discuss the facts of the case, analyse the evidence available and make certain recommendations relevant to the case:

" I have nothing more to achieve and there is nothing more for me to look forward to. There are two cornerstones that have guided me throughout my life-They are my longing for a good night’s sleep and a peaceful death. My duty is towards the public of this country and I will do my duty towards them with utmost dignity and perseverance "

The current Attorney General of the country who possess with him an experience of over three decades within the department which he joined as a State Counsel in 1980, subsequently served as Additional Solicitor General, Solicitor General and as Judge Advocate of the Sri Lanka Navy prior to his appointment.
In a wide ranging discussion, hot on the heels of suspects and accused persons being discharged or released, and cases being withdrawn on the advice of the Attorney General in many high profile cases, the Attorney General said that the officials of the department could only work on the evidence they possess. “We could only act on the evidence, not on suspicion or assumption”.

Following are excerpts of the ‘no holds barred’ discussion in which the Attorney General spoke of the specifics of cases that has caused a certain degree of dissension among the public.
The Kotakethana double murder and the subsequent release of two suspects including Godakawela Pradeshiya Sabha member L.H. Dharmasiri who is said to have connections to the powerful minister in the Ratnapura District.

The suspect who is said to be a member of the Pradeshiya Sabha had a son who worked at the Prisons Department, who was arrested for carrying drugs and subsequently remanded. It is said that the suspect had an issue with the two females who were murdered who were suspected to have been the informants to the Police regarding the son’s involvement in narcotics.

So when these two females were murdered naturally he was suspected to have been involved in the murder and was arrested.
First of all it must be noted that if he is such a powerful person why did he not secure the release of his son?
Police continued with their investigations and the Criminal Investigations Department was also brought in and ultimately they arrested the brother of this man (Chandrasiri) and his  Sister-in-law in connection to the murder.

Four people were accordingly remanded including this Pradeshiya Sabha member.
When we looked into the evidence however, there was not an iota of evidence implicating him. On the day of the incident he was in Dondra and evidence revealed that it was his brother and Sister-in-law who were involved in the murder.

We will be filing indictments very soon against the two of them. There will also be a special prosecutor who will conduct the case against the accused.
Evidence did not reveal any connection between him and the incident nor did it reveal anything to implicate him being behind these murders.
The acquittal of the son of Minister Mervyn Silva and five others.

The most important facet of any case is the evidence. We are guided by the evidence ordinance.
For whatever reason if the injured party in a sworn affidavit tells court that there was no incident then there is nothing more that we can do because there are no witnesses. The evidence ordinance which we are governed by is very clear on this.

Video evidence is only corroborative evidence. The main weapon that an accused has in any case against him is cross examination .
You can’t put on a video in court and expect the judge to make a decision. The law doesn’t work like that. Video evidence is only used to corroborate the evidence given by a witness and for nothing more. Fortunately or unfortunately these are the rules that we are governed by.

If so why was the Army Major not implicated for making a false statement?
Because, as a Policy we don’t take such action. This is of course guided by policy - we dont know the reason or under what circumstances he withdrew his complaint- this is common to any complainant who withdraws unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Making Minister Mervyn Silva’s Parliamentary Affairs Secretary and his Coordinating Secretary, who were in remand over their alleged involvement in the Kelaniya UPFA Pradeshiya Sabha member Hasitha Madawala’s murder, state witnesses.

The two suspects were accused of providing shelter and guarding the accused after he confessed to the killing of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha member.
 Sri Lankan law does not recognise ‘abetment’ as an offence after committing a crime. It should either before or while the crime is being committed. What better evidence do we have other than the two people to whom the accused had confessed to?  

" We are all men of integrity and all of us have a conscience, if there was sound evidence against some person how could we withdraw a case or release them on a phone call?. We have never received such calls and would never give into such interference if there was any "

They will be used as concrete evidence against the accused when prosecuting. This was the rationale behind making the two suspects state witnesses.
Investigations into the massacre of 17 Aid workers in Muttur and five university students in Trincomalee.

We are in the process of investigating and gathering all evidence relevant to these two cases. The Ministry of External Affairs is also involved in these two issues.
We are currently analysing all possible evidence that we have gathered thus far, it is a difficult task because many years have passed since the crimes were committed but we are in the process of finding out who was responsible. The department has taken all measures to ensure that a comprehensive process is carried out to find those responsible despite the obstacles that arise with the lapse of time.