State to pay Rs.1 mn and Batti OIC Rs.50,000 as compensation
They had disappeared in 2008 while in police custody Two youths gone missing
The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the State to pay Rs.1 million and the Batticaloa Police OIC Rs.50,000 as compensation to the parents of the two youths who disappeared in 2008 while in police custody.
Justice Anil Gooneratne with Chief Justice Priyasath Dep and Justice Upali Abeyratne held that the victims’ fundamental rights to freedom from torture, right to equality and the right that no person shall be punished with death or imprisonment except by order of a competent court had been violated.
The FR violation petitions, citing Batticaloa Police OIC Shantha Wickramasinghe, Sergeant W.A. Rupathunga, SI Udhayanga, the IGP and the Attorney General as respondents were filed in 2008 by the parents of the two youth -- Selvarajah Gunaseelan (26) and Kandasamy Kugathas (18), who had disappeared. Saliya Pieris PC with Anjana Rathnasiri appeared for the petitioners and Senior State Counsel Madava Tennekoon appeared for the IGP and Attorney General while The two youths were employed at a grocery shop in Batticaloa at the time of their arrest, for no reason at all, during a search operation carried out with assistance of the STF and the Army. Shamal Collure appeared for the other respondents.
The two youths were employed at a grocery shop in Batticaloa at the time of their arrest, for no reason at all, during a search operation carried out with assistance of the STF and the Army. There was no acknowledgement of their arrest either to their parents as required by the law or was the Human Rights Commission informed.
They were arrested on October 3, 2008. The parents said when they spoke to the second respondent, he had told them that there was no legal provision to release the detainees during the night and had asked them to call over the next morning.
When the parents did so on the next morning, they were told that the detainees had been removed from the cell by four people at 12 midnight.
The second respondent had not commented when the parents asked how the detainees were released at midnight without even informing them.
Petitioners on October 9 received a call from the Bishop’s House informing that two bodies had been ashore at Kattankudi that they were kept at the mortuary of the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital.
At the inquest, the Magistrate held that an offence had been committed and directed the Superintendent of Police to take charge of the investigations and arrest the suspects.
Petitioners said since the arrest and detentions were under emergency regulations, the OIC had no authority to release the detainees. They said the consent of the Attorney General should have been obtained and as such this act was illegal.