The Attorney General yesterday (July 03) informed the Supreme Court (SC) that the Acting Inspector General of Police has issued a circular to police stations outlining the procedure to be followed when a person is summoned to make a statement regarding a complaint.
The circular has been distributed to all police stations islandwide, the court was informed.
This development was revealed during the hearing of a Fundamental Rights petition filed by energy expert Vidhura Ralapanawe against the Computer Crimes Investigation Division (CCID) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The petition was heard before Supreme Court Justices Achala Wengappuli and Sampath Wijeyaratne.
The petitioner claimed that when he was contacted by CCID officers over the phone to provide a statement regarding an opinion he had posted on social media. However, they had refused to disclose details of the complaint, thereby violating his fundamental rights, the petitioner further claimed.
In response to the petition, the AG has informed that in accordance with a prior undertaking given before the court by the suspended IGP – Deshabandu Tennakoon and relevant officers of the CCID, a circular had been formulated and issued to all police stations islandwide.
Counsel for the petitioner told the court that his client was satisfied with the issuance of the circular and requested that the petition be concluded.
Accordingly, the SC decided to terminate the hearing of the petition.
Suspended IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, Sub-Inspector Thisara of the CCID, and the division’s Officer-in-Charge were named as respondents in the petition.
