The Court of Appeal issued a notice yesterday (1) directing four high-ranking Police officers including Inspector General C. D. Wickremaratne to appear before the Court in person on September 4, to give evidence regarding a writ petition filed in connection with a dispute regarding the ownership of a part of a shopping complex in Kuliyapitiya.
Notice was issued on Inspector General C.D.Wickremaratne, Senior Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Northwestern Province, Kithsiri Jayalath, Director of the Criminal Investigations Department Kavinda Jayasekera and Inspector P.D.Wijesuriya of the Kuliyapitiya Police Headquarters who had been named as respondents in the petition. Notice was issued thus, subsequent to taking into consideration a writ petition filed by a businessman, resident in Kuliyapitiya named Suranga Dilruk.
This petition was taken up for hearing in the presence of a bench of judges comprising of Chairman of the Appeal Court, Judge Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Judge of the Appeal Court M.C.B.S.Morais.
Although notice had been issued to submit facts in connection with this petition, previously to the respondents including the IGP they had not appeared in court and attention was focused on this by the bench of judges.
Subsequent to President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha representing the petitioner, considering at length, facts that were submitted, these notices were issued. The petitioner operates a shop in the shopping complex named ‘Muthukuda Plaza,’ and it is mentioned in the petition that he had made arrangements to purchase for Rs.15 million the part adjacent to his shop.He has also mentioned that he had paid part of the Rs.15 million, himself and then arranged for the balance to be paid via a loan obtained from a private company named ‘Gamma International.’
It is said that later, in connection with a dispute which arose between the petitioner and the company, Gamma International regarding this transaction, the company had filed a case at the Kuliyapitiya District Court.
The petitioner has said that while the situation remained thus, a director of the company had come with the police, and thrown him out of the relevant place. It has been pointed out in the petition that the police have no power to decide on the enjoyment of a land or evict people, except the courts.
The petition requests that the illegal intervention of the police in the petitioner’s business activities be prevented. President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha and Pulasthi Rupasinghe represented the petitioners.
Nelka Medagedera