The Supreme Court has suspended Attorney-at-Law P.K. Palaketiya from practicing for five years due to misconduct while serving as defense counsel in a Polonnaruwa High Court case.
The lawyer instructed a prosecution witness to expedite the case using improper methods.
Justices Shiran Goonaratne and Janak de Silva, in a majority decision, imposed the five-year suspension. However, Justice S. Thurairaja favored a 10-year suspension.
The Court chose a lenient sentence because Palaketiya pleaded guilty and accepted responsibility. Justice Thurairaja emphasized that defense counsels must act honestly and lawfully, not as "apathetic devil's advocates."
Palaketiya, retained by the accused in a sexual abuse case, was found to have provided improper instructions to the prosecution witness and obtained a signed blank sheet for an affidavit. The suspension addressed violations of Rule 60 and Rule 61 of the Supreme Court (Conduct and Etiquette for Attorneys-at-Law) Rules, 1988, as well as Section 42(2) of the Judicature Act.
