The Attorney General has informed the Supreme Court that indictments will be filed against former Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon within one month over the 9 May 2022 attack on anti-government protesters at Galle Face Green.
The disclosure came on Monday (25 May) during the hearing of an appeal by the Attorney General challenging a Court of Appeal ruling that had nullified a directive ordering the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to name Tennakoon as a suspect in the case.
The matter was taken up before a three-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Achala Wengappuli and Sampath Wijeratne. Deputy Solicitor General Suharshi Herath, appearing for the Attorney General, told the court that steps would be taken to file indictments against Tennakoon within a month. Chief Justice Nawaz, who headed the bench, questioned how long the process would take before the Deputy Solicitor General provided the timeframe.
Senior Counsel Romesh de Silva, appearing for Tennakoon, submitted that if indictments were filed against his client, the continuation of the current proceedings would become invalid. Following submissions from both sides, the court fixed the matter for further hearing on 2 September 2026.
Tennakoon was the country’s police chief during the 2022 “Aragalaya” protest movement. The 9 May 2022 assault on demonstrators at Galle Face — when government supporters attacked the protest camp — remains one of the period’s central accountability cases. The Supreme Court has previously taken up related matters, including a police apology over the 2022 Galle Face Green protest and fundamental-rights petitions linked to former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
