SC orders Rs. 1.2 Mn in personal compensation from policemen for torturing youth in custody

Lakmal Sooriyagoda

Colombo, May 23 (Daily Mirror) - In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court today ordered six former police officers attached to the Thambuttegama Police Station to personally pay Rs. 1.2 million in compensation to a young man who was arbitrarily arrested and tortured in custody in 2012. 

The ruling comes in response to a fundamental rights petition filed by the victim, a communication centre operator who was 27 years old at the time of the incident.

In addition to the compensation order, the Supreme Court directed the Attorney General to initiate a criminal investigation into the incident and to consider instituting criminal proceedings against the respondents under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act No. 22 of 1994.

Each of the six officers, Police Constables Prasanna Karunajeewa, M.D. Jagathpala, M.G.A.T.B. Abeysinghe, Upali Herath, P.K.G.S.P. Prematunga, and Police Sergeant Karunatilake have been ordered to pay Rs. 200,000 from their personal funds. 

The Supreme Court directed that the total amount be paid within three months from the date of judgment.

The petitioner, Susil Priyanka Seneviratne alleged he was falsely accused of participating in a protest march against the conduct of the Thambuttegama Police and was arrested for unlawful assembly on August 2, 2012. He maintained that he was at his business premises at the time of the procession and had no involvement in it.

The Court found that the petitioner was subjected to brutal assault before and while in police custody. He recounted being repeatedly struck on the head and ear with a motorcycle helmet, and kicked on his leg and body. As a result, his eardrum was ruptured, causing permanent hearing impairment in his left ear, and he sustained multiple bruises and injuries, including bleeding from the ear and leg.

With Supreme Court justices S. Thurairaja and Yasantha Kodagoda agreeing, Justice Priyantha Fernando delivered this judgment.

The Supreme Court held that the conduct of the policemen violated the petitioner’s fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 11 (Freedom from Torture), 12(1) (Equality before the law), 13(1) (f
Freedom from arbitrary arrest), and 13(5) (Right to be presumed innocent) of the Constitution. The 7th respondent, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Thambuttegama Police Station, Upula Seneviratne, was also found to have violated the petitioner’s rights under Articles 12(1), 13(1), and 13(5).

Counsel Pulasthi Hewamanna with Linuri Munasinghe instructed by Sanjeewa Kaluarachchi appeared for the petitioner.