Further Hearing of Suresh Sally’s Petition Deferred to July 10

13-Jun-2026

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The Court of Appeal has postponed until July 10 the further hearing of a writ petition filed by former Director of State Intelligence Suresh Sally seeking the annulment of the detention order issued against him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Court of Appeal Judges Rohana Abeysuriya and Priyantha Fernando on June 11.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardena explained how the ideology of the ISIS terrorist organisation had operated within Sri Lanka. He referred to a statement made in Parliament by former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe that 39 Sri Lankan nationals had travelled to Syria and joined the organisation.

Counsel further pointed out that former State Intelligence Chief Nilantha Jayawardena had submitted 97 intelligence reports and a list containing 129 individuals relating to the Mawanella Buddha statue vandalism incidents and the activities of Zahran Hashim’s group. He also noted that Indian intelligence had issued a warning on April 4, 2019, regarding possible suicide attacks in Colombo and its suburbs.

However, he alleged that former CID Director Shani Abeysekara and former Senior Deputy Inspector General Ravi Seneviratne had acted negligently by failing to pursue investigations with the assistance of international law enforcement agencies.

President’s Counsel Jayawardena further argued that no commission of inquiry report had identified any connection between Suresh Sally and the Easter Sunday attacks. He also informed the court that the Jayakee de Alwis Committee had recommended legal action against Shani Abeysekara and Ravi Seneviratne for failing to prevent the attacks.

Following submissions, the Court of Appeal postponed the matter until July 10 for further recording of evidence.