A retired Air Force officer was sternly warned by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (8) after attempting to institute a series of private criminal proceedings against complainants, witnesses, investigators and prosecutors connected to an ongoing case relating to the Channel 4 investigation.
Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena issued the warning when eight private criminal complaints filed by retired Air Force officer Dias Bandarlage Ajith Shantha Kumara Jayatilake came up before court.
The complaints had been filed against several individuals, including MediaLK Editor and journalist Tharindu Jayawardena, former Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekara, Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne and retired Superintendent of Police Priyadarshana Herath.
The Magistrate dismissed one of the complaints after refusing to issue summons, while the complainant himself withdrew the remaining seven cases.
When the first case, filed against Shani Abeysekara and Ravi Seneviratne, was taken up, Jayatilake—appearing without legal representation—alleged that the respondents had committed offences under several sections of the Penal Code by submitting false affidavits to the Supreme Court. He further claimed that they had committed offences under the Contempt of Court Act and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act.
The Magistrate questioned the legal basis for instituting proceedings in the Magistrate’s Court over alleged contempt of the Supreme Court, noting that the Magistrate’s Court had no jurisdiction under the Contempt of Court Act to entertain such matters.
The court further observed that both the location where the affidavits had been signed and the location of the Supreme Court fell outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. Finding that the complaint failed to disclose sufficient legal grounds, the Magistrate refused to issue summons under the Penal Code and the ICCPR Act and dismissed the case.
In another complaint, Jayatilake alleged that Abeysekara and Seneviratne were unlawfully in possession of CID documents. However, when asked to produce evidence, he failed to do so, stating that he could only submit a copy of a Supreme Court affidavit.
The Magistrate questioned whether the complainant believed the court was unaware that he had been filing private criminal cases against complainants, witnesses, investigators and prosecutors connected to case B/35882 pending before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.
The court also noted that after an earlier similar complaint had been rejected, the complainant had proceeded to file several more cases of the same nature.
Describing the conduct as a serious abuse of the judicial process and a waste of valuable court time, the Magistrate directed the complainant to substantiate the allegations, stating that an appropriate order would thereafter be issued.
Following those observations, Jayatilake moved to withdraw the case.
The court also examined another private complaint relating to an interview broadcast by journalist Tharindu Jayawardena. It noted that the addresses of both Jayawardena and retired SP Priyadarshana Herath had been marked as “unknown” in the filing.
Questioning how summons could be served without valid addresses, the Magistrate was informed by the complainant that journalist Jayawardena was present in the courtroom covering proceedings.
The Magistrate then asked, “Have you filed private cases against journalists as well?”
The court pointed out that, as no summons had been issued, it could not question individuals who were present in court on other official duties. It further observed that the complaint failed to establish the territorial jurisdiction in which the alleged offence had occurred.
After once again being warned over the alleged abuse of court process, the complainant withdrew that case as well.
Jayatilake also withdrew the remaining complaints, including one filed against Shani Abeysekara based on material contained in a book authored by former MP Udaya Gammanpila, after acknowledging that it had not been filed before the proper court with territorial jurisdiction.
