A Superintendent of Police who was sent on compulsory leave after being allegedly found to have been "biased" during the Presidential elections campaign while serving in Ampara and ordered to be reinstated by the Supreme Court has yet not been brought back to service, the Supreme Court was told this week.
The Court was told that an interim order to stay a decision to send Superintendent J. R. ( Rohana) Jayewardena on compulsory leave until the final determination in his fundamental rights case had not been implemented by the IGP.
On May 25, the Supreme Court granted leave to proceed. Even after notices were sent to the IGP and the Director Legal of the Police was informed, the IGP had failed to comply with the order, the court was told.
Thereafter, SP Jayewardena brought it to the notice of the court by a motion and on June 23, Senior State Counsel Vivekha Siriwardena asked for one week's time for the IGP to comply with the order. The court fixed the case for June 30 to ascertain whether the order had been complied with.
When the case was called on June 30, Senior State Counsel informed the court that though the Attorney General made efforts to have the IGP complied with the order, the IGP had not carried it out.
SP Jayewardena’s lawyers told court that the IGP was duty bound to comply with the orders and there was no excuse for not complying with a court order.
The bench comprising Justices Shirani Bandaranayake, Gamini Ameratunge and M.K. Sureshchandran directed that the case be called on July 12 before the same bench which issued the order.
In his petition to Court, the SP has stated that he was first transferred to the Kilinochchi Police and then to the Police Training School before being sent on compulsory leave after a Special Investigations Unit at Police Headquarters conducted an investigation into his conduct on a purported allegation that he decided to remove the posters and banners of Presidential candidates "prior to the Commissioner of elections providing labour for the removal of posters, notices and banners" and therefore displayed "bias" during the Presidential election.
Saliya Pieris and Shantha Jayawardena instructed by Gowry Thavarasa appeared for the petitioner. The Respondents included the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the Inspector General of Police. |
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