ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order preventing Deshabandu Tennakoon from serving as Inspector General of Police (IGP), a media report said.
The privately owned Ada Derana news network reported Wednesday July 24 morning that the Supreme Court had made this verdict after granting leave to proceed for nine fundamental rights petitions filed against Tennakoon’s appointment as IGP.
Other reports said the country’s apex court has also ordered President Ranil Wickremesinghe to name a suitable person for the post of IGP during the period the interim order is in effect.
Sri Lanka’s Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) was among those who had filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the appointment.
The petition was filed by CPA Executive Director Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu in March against the presidential appointment of Tennakoon, CPA said in a statement on March 13.
“Article 41C of the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka provides that such an appointment by the President cannot occur without approval from the Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka. According to Article 41E, that approval should have at least five votes in favour. The Leader of the Opposition, who is a member of the Council, has alleged that the Council did not approve the appointment of the IGP with the minimum five votes,” the organisation said.
The appointment of the IGP is therefore unconstitutional, the petitioner argued. Thennakoon is manifestly unsuitable for the role of IGP as the Supreme Court, in a fundamental rights case, found him to have engaged in torture (in the Supreme Court decision of SC (FR) 107/2011 Mr. Thennakoon was determined to have infringed Articles 11, 12(1), 13(1) and 13(2) of the Constitution), the petitioner said.
“Essentially, his appointment as IGP will infringe Article 12(1) of the Constitution as it is arbitrary, grossly unreasonable and against the public trust,” CPA said.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed Tennakoon as Sri Lanka’s 36th IGP on February 26 after the Constitutional Council (CC) cleared the official who along with three other police officers were asked by the Supreme Court to compensate 2 million rupees in a fundamental rights case last year.
The island nation’s Supreme Court on December 14 ordered Tennakoon when he was the Acting IGP and three other officials to pay a compensation of 500,000 rupees each for the violation of the fundamental rights of an individual.
The Supreme Court also instructed the Police Commission to take disciplinary action against the said Police officers including Tennakoon after it considered the petition filed by W. Ranjith Sumangala who had accused the Police officers of violating his fundamental rights during his detention at Mirihana Police Station in 2011.
The Supreme Court held that the four police officers violated the fundamental rights of the petitioner by his illegal arrest, detention and subjection to torture at the Mirihana Police Station, which was under the supervision of Tennakoon at the time of the arrest. (Colombo/Jul24/2024)