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SC orders IGP to warn officers against ‘extra judicial procedures’
A Supreme Court directive to the Inspector General of Police to warn Police officers to observe the law relating to the rights and liberties of citizens when dealing with investigations has been complied with, DIG (Legal) Gamini Dissanayake said yesterday.
The SC order came in the fundamental rights application filed by Chartered Accountant Nihal Hettiarachchi in which the Court found that the CID had adopted “extra judicial procedures” in a matter in which he was stopped by Immigration at the BIA en-route to Malaysia on the grounds that the CID was investigating a complaint made against him by a foreign investor.
The CID investigation revolved round a complaint made by a Belgian investor, Alain Tijtgat interested in building villas for sale to foreigners. He had purchased a block of land in Sri Lanka but it was later found to be State property and he had been subjected to an alleged fraudulent land scam. This is the case in which the Arachchkatuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jagath Samantha was arrested, remanded and later released on bail.
Mr. Hettiarachchi sought to have the travel ban imposed on him removed on the grounds that he was unaware of any investigation against him at the time of his overseas travel and that the Police had never even questioned him on any matter up to date. He had submitted that preventing him going abroad was an arbitrary, capricious and illegal act by the CID.
CID Chief Inspector Mohan Siriwardene was made the 1st respondent in the FR application. In fact, in his FR application, Mr. Hettiarachchi has stated that prior to his planned departure to Malaysia, the Belgian national had come to his office, along with Asela Herath, Inspector of Police and Wellawatte Police Station Crimes OIC who was in police uniform and demanded from him the payment of Rs. 55 million which he had spent to purchase the 48 acre land and under duress exerted by the said Alain Tijtgat and the said Asela Herath he signed a document to the effect that he would sell his hotel in Kalpitiya and the said Asela Herath had signed as a witness to the document.
Mr. Hettiarachchi says in his petition that the said IP Asela Herath handed over his visiting card to him during these private negotiations.
The Belgian investor, Alain Tijtgat and Mr. Hettiarachchi were both directors of the company known as Paradise Dreams Investments (Pvt.) Ltd., Subsequently, Alain Titjgat submitted an affidavit stating Mr. Hettiarachchi was not a party to any land scam that cheated him of his investment and that Mr. Hettiarachchi continues to manage the company and he has no complaints against him.
DIG (Legal) Dissanayake told the Sunday Times that the IGP had asked him to follow up on the Supreme Court order to him in December last year and warn Police officers to act according to the law.
The SC order stated that instructions be given to the Chief Inspector of the CID “that no steps should be taken at any time for the arrest of the petitioner without the prior sanction of the Attorney General, and that all travel bans imposed by the different Magistrate Courts be set aside and that any restrictions of the petitioner’s liberty be moved only with the prior sanction of the Attorney General”.
The SC order added “We observe with great regret that the officers concerned in these investigations have indulged in extra judicial procedures which practice must be denounced at all times”.
The Supreme Court Bench comprised Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, and Justice Sripavan and Satya Hettige PC.
Last Monday the Nugegoda Chief Magistrate Aruna Aluthge lifted the travel ban on Mr. Hettiarachchi based on the Supreme Court order.
| State land becomes private; accused politico given bail
Arachchikatuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jagath Samantha and two others were released on bail in January after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court that a 48 acre land which they allegedly sold on forged deeds was not a State land, but a private land. Nugegoda Chief Magistrate Aruna Aluthge, considering the report filed by the CID, granted Rs. 100,000 cash bail and Rs. one million surety bail for each of the suspects. The other suspects are Sunil Lakshman Fernando and Ibrahim Finaz. The suspects were also ordered not to travel overseas and to report to the police every Sunday. The CID in its report said that it had discussed the matter with the Attorney General’s Department and was informed that the land in question was a private land. The lawyers appearing on behalf of the suspects said that the matter cannot be considered under the Public Property Act as the land was not a State land, but land in respect of which a testamentary case had been filed in the Puttalam courts. Attorneys Tharanga Dissanayaka, Ananda Hettiarachchi, Vidura P. Manchanayake with Anil Silva, PC appeared for the suspects. In November last year the Arachchikattuwa PS chairman and others were arrested by the CID on the grounds that they had sold a State land. |