Hearing of writ petition filed by Suresh Sale postponed to September 18

04-Sep-2026

.

The hearing of a writ petition filed by former head of the State Intelligence Service, retired Major General Suresh Sale, challenging his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and his detention for questioning in connection with the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, has been postponed until September 18.

The petition was taken up for hearing on September 3, before a two-member bench of the Court of Appeal comprising Justice Rohan Abeysuriya, who presided over the bench, and Justice Priyantha Fernando.

Senior Counsel Suren de Silva Perera, appearing on behalf of Rev. Fr. Rohantha Silva, who has been named as the sixth respondent in the petition, made submissions before court.

He stated:

“My Lord, the petitioner has submitted a statement to the Jayaki de Alwis Commission concerning my client, who is a respondent in this case. However, the Jayaki de Alwis Commission did not disclose the statement. Former Minister Udaya Gammanpila disclosed it during a press conference.

“A copy of the Commission’s inquiry report has been submitted to court. It has been submitted in violation of the rules of the Court of Appeal. There is an issue regarding the legality of that report.

“The petitioner has failed to present the basic facts that are required to be established when filing a writ petition. Therefore, we have requested court to dismiss this petition without taking it up for hearing.”