SLPP politician Mahinda Pathirana on Friday submitted an unconditional written apology to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court after the magistrate took note of social media posts in which he criticised the court-appointed medical panel assessing former State Intelligence Service Director Major General Suresh Sallay, Newswire reported.
In the written submission, Pathirana said his June 11 posts had been driven by a “mistaken factual premise” that the panel’s composition was the product of executive influence rather than an independent judicial determination. “My commentary was entirely prompted by a mistaken factual premise that the selection and recommendation of the specific medical professionals on the panel were driven by executive/governmental influence rather than an independent judicial determination,” he stated.
Pathirana stressed his criticism had not been directed at the judiciary, saying his remarks targeted “what I perceived to be executive overreach and governmental processes.” He added that he held “the absolute independence and integrity of the Judiciary in the highest esteem” and that it was at no point his intention to “scandalize, disrespect, or challenge the authority, wisdom, or impartiality” of the court.
He went on to acknowledge that he had failed to recognise the appointment of the medical panel was itself a formal judicial act. “I deeply regret failing to properly distinguish that the ultimate appointment was a formal act of this Honorable Court, executed in accordance with due legal process and free from executive dictation,” he said.
Conceding the remarks could have been read as reflecting on the conduct or integrity of the court, Pathirana said he recognised “the gravity of such an interpretation” and tendered “an absolute, unqualified apology” for any embarrassment or misinterpretation his words may have caused. He reaffirmed his commitment to the rule of law and to “the sanctity of the judicial institution.”
The episode arises out of the parallel Sallay accountability track, where the Fort Magistrate appointed a five-member medical board at Colombo South Teaching Hospital to examine the former intelligence chief following his hospitalisation and a defence application citing five psychiatrists’ findings. The board appointment had also been preceded by the June 10 ruling on the original Sallay psychiatric reports in which the Attorney General’s department had publicly disputed the defence’s mental-health framing. Newswire said the apology came after several individuals had argued on social media that Pathirana’s earlier comments could amount to an affront to the judiciary.
