SC To Hear Appeal Over Ex-Navy Chief’s Removal from Abduction Case

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has granted permission to proceed with an appeal filed by the parents of 11 youth who were allegedly abducted and disappeared in Colombo and surrounding areas in 2008. 

The appeal challenges the Attorney General’s decision to remove former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda from the list of accused in the ongoing criminal case.

The case was called before a bench comprising Justices Arjuna Obeysekera and Sampath Wijeratne, who, after reviewing the submissions, allowed the appeal to be heard.

The next hearing has been scheduled for January 30.

The petitioners argue that Karannagoda was originally named as a suspect in a case filed in 2019 before the Colombo Permanent Trial-at-Bar, which involved 14 members of the Navy’s intelligence unit.

The charges relate to the alleged abduction and disappearance of the youth, who were reportedly taken into custody and never seen again.

According to the petitioners, the Attorney General’s decision to remove Karannagoda from the case was made despite sufficient evidence against him. 

They claim the move was legally flawed and undermines the pursuit of justice for their missing children.

The parents had previously filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, which was dismissed. 

The current petition seeks to overturn that dismissal and reinstate Karannagoda as a respondent in the case.