The Court of Appeal has ordered that the writ petition filed by former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Major General Suresh Sallay, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), be called again on August 25.
The petition was taken up on Tuesday before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.
The bench directed that the matter be recalled on August 25 for further support and confirmation of facts, with additional submissions expected to be made on that date.
Sallay was detained under the PTA in connection with investigations into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks of 21 April 2019, in which coordinated bombings of churches and hotels killed 278 people. He has challenged both his arrest and the detention order through the writ application.
The case has moved through the Court of Appeal in stages over recent months. The petition was first taken up in May, when the Attorney General signalled preliminary objections, and was most recently fixed for July 17 after submissions by President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardena.
At that hearing, counsel for the petitioner told the court that international investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks had not implicated his client, and argued that commission reports contained no evidence linking Sallay to the bombings.
No date has been indicated for a final determination on the petition.
