Several parties seek leave to intervene Counsel appearing on behalf of former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Major General (retd.) Suresh Sallay has filed over 600 pages of additional material in support of his writ application. The next hearing is scheduled to…
Several parties seek leave to intervene
Counsel appearing on behalf of former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Major General (retd.) Suresh Sallay has filed over 600 pages of additional material in support of his writ application. The next hearing is scheduled to take place tomorrow (10). Arrested in late February this year under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and named the first accused in the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, Sallay, who served as the SIS from 2019 to 2024, is currently receiving treatment at the National Hospital, Colombo. The additional material filed by Sallay’s counsel comprises sworn testimony and documentary evidence presented by investigators and other key witnesses before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks, chaired by Justice Janak de Silva. The filing included the sworn evidence of His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. According to the petitioner, the material provides a comprehensive account of the circumstances surrounding the Easter Sunday attacks, the investigations leading up to the terror attacks, and the actions and omissions of senior officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during the relevant period. The petitioner contends that the evidence sheds light on those alleged to have been responsible for the attacks and highlights what are described as serious investigative failures and dereliction of duty on the part of certain senior officials. The additional documents also include Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith’s evidence before the Commission, in which he emphasised the importance of ensuring that investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks are conducted independently and without political interference. The petitioner argues that this principle has not been upheld in the present circumstances. Following the filing of the additional material, several parties have filed intervenient petitions seeking leave to intervene in the writ application. The intervenient petitioners are Ven. Dimbulagala Rahulalankara Thera, Dimbulagala Maha Viharaya, Dimbulagala, and Ven. Dapane Sumanawansa Thera, Sri Bodhimalu Viharaya, Gangodawila, Nugegoda; Global Sri Lanka Forum; Patriotic National Movement; and Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera, Sri Pangnananda Dharmayathanaya, Railway Station Road, Kelaniya, together with Rev. Angulugalle Siri Jinanda Thera, Sri Wimalaramaya, Isurupura, Malabe. The filing of these intervenient petitions underscored the wider public interest in the proceedings and the significance attached to the issues before the Court, legal sources said. The writ application is scheduled to be taken up for further hearing on 10 July, when the Court is expected to consider the intervening petitions together with the substantive matters arising in the main application.