Suresh Sale concealed facts relating to allegations against him: Deputy Solicitor General
30-Jul-2026.
Former Director of the State Intelligence Service, Suresh Sale, had concealed several facts relating to the allegations levelled against him without presenting them before court, Deputy Solicitor General Suharshi Herath told the Court of Appeal.
“When a person seeks relief through a writ petition, all relevant facts must be disclosed before court. The petitioner has not approached court with clean hands. In such circumstances, how can this writ petition be proceeded with in accordance with the law?” the Deputy Solicitor General questioned.
The writ petition filed by Suresh Sale challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with investigations into the Easter Sunday bomb attacks was taken up for hearing again before the Court of Appeal yesterday.
The matter was heard before a Bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohanta Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.
Deputy Solicitor General Suharshi Herath, appearing for the respondents including Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Shani Abeysekara, told court that a statement given by former Deputy Inspector General of Police of the CID Prasad Ranasinghe had clearly outlined how the petitioner had allegedly interfered with investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks.
“Your Lordships, during the investigations into the Easter Sunday attack, it has been clearly stated in the statement given by then CID Deputy Inspector General Prasad Ranasinghe how the petitioner Suresh Sale obstructed the investigations.
“Following the 2019 explosion in Sainthamaruthu, there were allegations that a woman named Sara Jasmine had not died in the explosion and had escaped to India. Suresh Sale had alleged at investigation review meetings that the CID had failed to conduct a proper investigation into the matter,” the Deputy Solicitor General said.
She further informed court that according to the statement of the former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Suresh Sale had repeatedly claimed that Sara Jasmine had died at the scene and that DNA examinations had not been properly conducted.
She said Suresh Sale’s position had been that DNA testing should be conducted again and that he had managed to ensure this through the then President.
The Deputy Solicitor General pointed out that this statement had been referred to in a “B” report submitted to the Fort Magistrate’s Court on March 11, 2026, and that it clearly demonstrated the manner in which the petitioner had interfered with the investigations.
She also stated that Suresh Sale had informed court that he had travelled to India on January 3, 2019, for defence studies and returned only in December of the same year.
Although Suresh Sale had informed the CID that after completing his duties at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Malaysia he had handed over his diplomatic passport to the Foreign Ministry, he had submitted the original copy of the same diplomatic passport to court in connection with this case, the Deputy Solicitor General said.
“How can he produce the original passport before court if he had already handed it over to the Ministry?” she questioned.
She further stated that only selected pages, around 17 or 18 pages, from the 64-page diplomatic passport had been submitted before court. Only four pages of the official passport had been produced.
She said immigration stamps on page 56 of the passport showed an Indian immigration departure stamp dated May 18, 2019, and an arrival stamp in June 2019.
“Although Mr Sale claimed that he did not leave India after travelling there, these stamps clearly establish that he had departed from India,” she said.
The Deputy Solicitor General also referred to a statement given by former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to the CID, in which he had stated that about one to one-and-a-half months before the Easter Sunday attacks, then Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake had telephoned him and informed him that he needed to meet Brigadier Suresh Sale.
She added that a statement given by Asad Maulana had also indicated that Suresh Sale was in Sri Lanka during that period.
“These facts were concealed by petitioner Suresh Sale without presenting them before court. A person seeking relief through a writ petition must disclose all facts before court. He has not come before court with clean hands. How can such a petition be maintained before the law?” the Deputy Solicitor General asked.
