Lecturer Mahinda Pathirana is prepared to offer an unconditional apology over a contempt of court complaint arising from a post on his Facebook account, the Court of Appeal was told on Wednesday.
President’s Counsel V.K. Choksy, appearing for Pathirana, informed the court of his client’s position when the case was taken up, Hiru News reported.
The complaint was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Fort Magistrate, who found that a note Pathirana had placed on his Facebook account amounted to contempt.
Choksy told the court his client had no intention of showing contempt in making the post, and said an affidavit setting out all the relevant facts would be submitted.
What this stage of a contempt case means
Contempt proceedings in Sri Lanka reach the Court of Appeal on referral from a magistrate, and the appellate court decides whether to proceed. An offer of an unconditional apology at the first calling is a standard route to disposal, but it is an offer — the filing does not record the court accepting it, and nothing in the report indicates the matter is concluded.
The affidavit Choksy undertook to file is the document that would carry the explanation of intent, and it had not been submitted at the time of the hearing.
Not reported
The filing does not say what the Facebook post contained, what proceeding it referred to, or when it was made. It does not give the date of the Fort Magistrate’s referral, name the bench hearing the matter, identify Pathirana’s institution or field, or give the next date. It records no response from the court to the apology offer and no position from any opposing party.
Single source. Searches of the Daily Mirror, NewsFirst, the Island, Daily FT, Daily News and Colombo Gazette returned only unrelated contempt cases from earlier this year — none concerning Pathirana’s Facebook post. Search summaries offered background about an earlier protest-related contempt matter, but the dates in them conflicted with each other and none of it could be verified against a fetched source, so it is not reproduced here. Ada Derana remains blocked to this desk.
