COI on political victimisation informs CA it will not summon AKD, Shani

Tuesday, 28 July 2020 01:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

No summons till CA concludes hearing into Writ petition filed by JVP leader and former CID director
AG Dept. official will also not be summoned

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) appointed to look into political victimisation informed the Court of Appeal yesterday that it will not be summoning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) former Director Shani Abeysekera to appear before it.

The COI informed the Court the two will not be summoned until the conclusion of the hearing into the Writ petitions filed by them seeking an order preventing the Commission from summoning them before it.

The two had been asked to appear before the COI in connection with a complaint lodged before it by Avant Garde Maritime Services Ltd. Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi.

The COI also informed yesterday that it will not be summoning Senior State Counsel Janaka Bandara to appear before the Commission after a strong rebuttal from the Attorney General who informed the COI that it has no power to issue notices on an AG’s Department official under the terms of the Commission of Inquiry Act. The COI was appointed by the President on 9 January to inquire into and obtain information in relation to alleged Political Victimisation of Public Officers, Employees of State Corporations, Members of the Armed Forces, and the Police Service who held posts during the period commencing 8 January 2015 and ending 16 November2019.

The Commission’s three members Supreme Court Retired Judge Upaly Abeyrathne, Court of Appeal Retired Judge Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilaka and Retired Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando have been named as Respondents in the petitions.