The Supreme Court has ruled that two police officers from the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) violated the fundamental rights of Iresha Lakmali, the wife of a former driver for ex-Minister Patali Champika Ranawake, by illegally arresting and detaining her, her mother, and her 23-month-old child. This occurred during an inquiry about her husband's whereabouts related to the controversial Rajagiriya accident case.
The three-judge bench, comprising Justices S. Thurairaja, Mahinda Samayawardhena, and Arjuna Obeyesekere, ordered officers Nevil Silva and G.J. Nandana to pay Rs. 250,000 each as compensation to Iresha Lakmali. The court mandated that the compensation be paid within six months from their personal funds. Additionally, the National Police Commission was directed to take appropriate disciplinary action against the officers.
Justice Thurairaja criticized the officers, stating, “The conduct of the Respondents, judged even by the lowest of standards, is a magnificent failure of all that the Rule of Law stands for. They have no doubt acted in a manner unbefitting of public office. How are we to sympathize with their contention of bona fides when they have been absolutely insensitive towards even the most basic needs of the arrestees? The fact that the Petitioner had to breastfeed the child inside the vehicle tells us that the Respondents have had scant regard towards her dignity and even the mere rudiments of human decency.”
According to the petitioner, on December 15, 2019, police officers from the Imaduwa Police Station and the Colombo Crime Division visited her mother’s residence, where she was staying with her toddler, in search of her husband. The officers insisted she accompany them to Colombo after they failed to reach her husband by phone. Despite her initial resistance due to concerns for her toddler, the officers insisted she bring her child along.
The group left her residence around 12:45 a.m., traveling in a police vehicle. They arrived in Jayanthipura, Battaramulla, around 4:30 a.m., which Lakmali later identified as the Colombo Crime Division in Dematagoda. After being kept in the parked vehicle for about three hours, the officers finally dropped Lakmali, her mother, and her child back at her home in Imaduwa around 12 p.m. on December 16, 2019, having left Dematagoda at approximately 10 a.m.
