The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday ordered that six public figures — among them former ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila and Mawbima Janatha Party MP Dilith Jayaweera — be reported to the Court of Appeal over allegations of contempt of court.

Also named are Sugeeshwara Bandara, Asanka Navaratne and senior lecturer Mahinda Pathirana.

The Criminal Investigation Department reported the facts of its investigation before Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena. After hearing the submissions, the court observed that, at first glance, the statements attributed to the six appeared to contain criticism of the judicial process, and decided to seek the institution of proceedings against them before the appellate court.

The statements at issue

According to NewsFirst, the order relates to statements allegedly made in public between July 7 and July 15, during a Satyagraha campaign protesting the arrest of former State Intelligence Service director Suresh Salley in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks investigation.

The allegations concern comments said to have been made in a manner critical of ongoing judicial proceedings. None of the six has been convicted of any offence, and the matter now moves to the Court of Appeal, which has jurisdiction over contempt proceedings.

How the case reached this point

Wednesday’s order is the outcome of an investigation the CID opened in mid-June against the same six individuals. At that stage, investigators told the Fort Magistrate that statements broadcast through electronic media and social media had “created public dissatisfaction, suspicion, disrespect, and contempt toward the judicial process”, and said charges would be filed under the Contempt of a Court, Tribunal or Institution Act, No. 8 of 2024.

Magistrate Amarasena declined at the time to issue summons, ruling that proceedings under the 2024 Act belonged before the Court of Appeal rather than the Magistrate’s Court, and directed that the six would be required to appear before the appellate court once the probe concluded. Wednesday’s decision completes that step.

The June filing described the statements as following Salley’s admission to hospital from CID custody on June 7. NewsFirst’s account of Wednesday’s order places the relevant statements in the later July 7–15 Satyagraha period.

The case sits within a widening set of proceedings around the Easter investigation. Salley remains in custody, and the Court of Appeal was due to take up intervening petitions in his case on August 6. A lawyers’ group has previously criticised the CID contempt probe as targeting political speech.

NewsFirst was the only verified newsroom carrying the order at the time of writing.

Sources: NewsFirst.