The Supreme Court has ordered the recall of the defence in the case against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Pujith Jayasundara, related to the 2019 Easter Sunday Attacks. This decision was made today after the Attorney General's Department appealed against the earlier acquittal of the duo without hearing their defence.
Fernando and Jayasundara face accusations of failing to prevent the attacks despite having prior intelligence information. After a lengthy hearing on the Attorney General's appeal, a five-member Supreme Court bench, led by Preethi Padman Surasena, decided to recall the defence.
Initially, the case was presented to a three-judge bench of the Colombo Permanent High Court, which ruled to acquit both defendants without considering their evidence. The Attorney General argued that this decision was unlawful and requested it be annulled.
Taking this appeal into account, the Supreme Court stated that the Colombo Permanent High Court should have allowed the defendants to present their case during the trial and has now ordered their defence to be recalled.
