Court orders Suresh Sallay to hand over laptop, phone passwords to CID

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today ordered former State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Sallay to provide the passwords to a laptop and mobile phone seized during his arrest to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The order was issued after Additional Solicitor General Dilip Peiris informed court that investigators had recovered the devices from Sallay’s vehicle at the time of his arrest. According to the prosecution, Sallay had claimed the laptop belonged to his daughter and had attempted to leave it at his office before investigators took possession of both devices. The prosecution further told court that Sallay had refused to disclose the passwords required to access the laptop and mobile phone. Peiris argued that the suspect was a skilled hacker trained to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and requested the court to direct him to provide the passwords to assist the ongoing investigation. President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando, appearing for Sallay, objected to the request, arguing that the Magistrate’s Court had no legal authority to issue such an order. However, Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasekara ruled that under Section 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, the court has the authority to issue directions necessary to facilitate criminal investigations. The Magistrate accordingly ordered Sallay to provide the passwords to the CID. The case was postponed until September 2, with the court also directing that Sallay be produced via video link on the next hearing date. (Newswire)