Magistrate seeking contempt action against IGP transferred

Saturday, 7 November 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Gampaha Magistrate Bandula Gunaratne who is seeking contempt of court proceedings against Inspector General of Police (IGP) over alleged non-compliance with a judicial order, has been transferred to the Judges’ Training Institute with immediate effect.

The transfer was ordered by Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Secretary Prasanna Alwis. The reasons are not known.

The development follows a request by Magistrate Gunaratne to the President of the Court of Appeal to initiate contempt proceedings against the IGP, alleging that he had failed to comply with a court directive and had brought the judiciary into disrepute.

The Magistrate had earlier directed the IGP to issue a circular instructing police officers to refrain from instituting frivolous legal proceedings against innocent members of the public. Following the alleged failure to implement the directive, Gunaratne sought legal action against the police chief.

Meanwhile, the IGP had lodged a complaint against the Magistrate with the JSC, prompting the Commission to call for his observations. The transfer order was issued shortly after the Magistrate submitted his observations to the Commission.