Negombo District Judge Lalith Kannangara today (11 December) rejected a request by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara and former State Intelligence Chief Nilantha Jayawardena to dismiss compensation cases filed against them by victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019. The defendants had cited a statute of limitations under the Police Ordinance as the basis for their request.
The request arose during the preliminary hearings of 182 compensation cases filed in the Negombo District Court. Lawyers representing Jayasundara and Jayawardena, the fourth and fifth defendants in the cases, argued that, as police officers, any lawsuits filed against them must be initiated within three months of the incident, as stipulated in the Police Ordinance.
However, the plaintiffs’ lawyers contested this argument, stating that their clients became aware of the alleged culpability of the defendants only through media reports following the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter attacks. They argued that the lawsuits were filed within the legally stipulated timeframe after obtaining this information, making the defendants’ argument invalid.
Judge Kannangara ruled that the defendants’ objection regarding the Statute of Limitations should be addressed based on evidence presented during the trial, rather than as a primary legal issue to be resolved at the outset. Consequently, the matter will be considered at the conclusion of the trial.
The judge also scheduled the cases, along with others related to the Easter attacks, for further hearings on 13 December.
Senior Attorney Waruna Senadheera, on the instructions of Attorney Angelica Perera, appeared for the plaintiffs, assisted by Attorney Indika Bandara Abeykoon.
