Writ Petition Filed by Dilith Jayaweera Rejected

01-Oct-2026

.

A three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal has ordered the rejection, without taking up for hearing, of a writ petition filed by Parliamentarian Dilith Jayaweera seeking an order to invalidate the determination made against him by the Colombo Fort Magistrate on an allegation of contempt of court.

However, the bench observed in its order that the decision would not affect the petitioner’s position in the main case that he had not committed contempt of court.

The order was delivered on September 30, 2026, by the three-member bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohanta Abeysuriya and Justices Samath Morayis and Adithya Patabendige.

Delivering the order, Court of Appeal President Justice Rohanta Abeysuriya stated that the determination forwarded by the Magistrate to the Court of Appeal was not final. He said the Court of Appeal would conduct an inquiry into the Magistrate’s determination.

He further stated that summons would be issued to the respondents only if a prima facie case was established following the inquiry. Accordingly, he noted that the Magistrate was empowered to forward such a determination under the provisions of the Contempt of Court Act No. 8 of 2024.

The three-member bench stated that the petition filed by the petitioner was rejected as it did not disclose a prima facie case.

However, the bench also pointed out that the order would not affect the petitioner’s position in the main case that he had not committed contempt of court.

Meanwhile, a complaint filed by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court against former Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and others over alleged contempt of court was also taken up before the three-member bench of the Court of Appeal.

Presidential Counsels Ali Sabry, Manohara de Silva and V.K. Choksy, appearing for Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Asanka Navaratne, Mahinda Pathirana, Sugishwara Bandara and Parliamentarian Dilith Jayaweera, submitted that there was no prima facie case in the complaint forwarded by the Magistrate seeking the issuance of summons against their clients over alleged contempt of court.

The Presidential Counsels therefore requested the Court to allow their clients to make submissions before a decision was taken regarding the Magistrate’s determination.

Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara, appearing for the Attorney General, informed the Court that he was assisting the Court in the matter.

Having considered the submissions, the bench directed the Registrar of the Court of Appeal to take steps to submit to court, before the next hearing, all unedited video footage forming the basis of the case.

The Court of Appeal thereafter fixed October 7 for the matter to be taken up again.