The Court of Appeal has dismissed a writ petition by Sarvajana Balaya leader and MP Dilith Jayaweera that sought to invalidate a finding by the Colombo Fort Magistrate that he had committed contempt of court.
A three-judge bench threw the petition out in limine — that is, without taking it up for hearing at all, the Daily Mirror reported.
The bench comprised Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justices Chamath Morais and Adithya Patabendige, who were unanimous, NewsFirst reported.
What the court said it was — and was not — deciding
The reasoning matters more than the outcome. Justice Abeysuriya held that the magistrate’s finding was not a final determination. Under the procedure, the Court of Appeal examines the magistrate’s finding and issues summons on the respondents only if it is satisfied there is a prima facie basis for a case. The bench held that the magistrate was empowered to make such a finding under the Contempt of Courts Act, No. 8 of 2024.
The bench was explicit that the dismissal does not prejudice Jayaweera’s position in the main proceedings that he did not commit contempt. He loses the attempt to have the referral quashed at the threshold; he does not lose the defence itself.
The case behind the petition
Jayaweera had gone to the Court of Appeal to challenge the legality of the complaint the Colombo Fort Magistrate lodged against him. He filed the writ application in September, when the order was first expected on 14 September before being put off to 30 September.
The contempt matter is one strand of a wider set of proceedings. Jayaweera is among the politicians against whom contempt charges were raised in connection with remarks on the Easter Sunday attacks case, alongside Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, and the three previously went to the Court of Appeal over the same contempt proceedings.
Neither report published on Tuesday gives a next date for the substantive contempt proceedings before the Court of Appeal, or says whether summons will now issue on the respondents.
