The Supreme Court today (15) decided to take up for hearing a special appeal filed by the parents of youth who went missing, challenging the AG’s decision to withdraw former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda from a case pending before the Colombo High Court.

Karannagoda had been indicted in connection with the abduction and disappearance of 11 youth while they were in the custody of the Navy.

The Supreme Court also scheduled the hearing of the appeal for 30 January next year.

The petition was considered before a bench comprising Justices Arjuna Obeysekera and Sampath Wijeratne. The Attorney General has been named as the respondent in the appeal filed by the parents of the disappeared youth.

The petitioners state that in 2008, 11 youth from Colombo and surrounding areas were abducted and subsequently disappeared. In 2019, the Attorney General filed indictments before the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar against 14 individuals, including former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and members of the Navy’s intelligence unit.

However, during proceedings, the Attorney General decided to drop Karannagoda’s name from the list of accused, despite previously naming him a suspect based on what the petitioners say was sufficient evidence.

Challenging this move, the petitioners first appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed their application. They have now turned to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Attorney General’s decision was arbitrary and unlawful. They are seeking an order to reinstate Karannagoda as a suspect in the case concerning the alleged abduction and disappearance of their children.