SC fixes IGP’s FR Petition for support on 17 Sept.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara

By Manopriya Gunasekera 

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the Fundamental Rights (FR) Petition filed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, against being sent on compulsory leave and to return him to active duty, to be fixed for support on 17 September.

The petition was taken up before the Supreme Court Judge bench consisting of Justices L.T.B. Dehideniya and S. Thurairajah on Wednesday.

As the Petition must be considered before a three-judge bench, the Supreme Court Justices ordered to take up the Petition again on 17 September.

The Police Chief appeared before the Court when the Petition was taken up before the Supreme Court this morning.

On 29 April, IGP Pujith Jayasundara was sent on compulsory leave, after he refused to step down even after being asked to do so by President Sirisena. Jayasundara has also asked the Supreme Court to reinstate him to his former position as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

In his FR Petition, he appealed that as sending him on compulsory leave was an illegal act by the President, the Supreme Court should nullify President Sirisena’s order and reappoint him to his earlier post. He has cited Constitutional Council Chairman Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as other members of the Constitutional Council.

Jayasundara, in his Petition, also observes that he has been a loyal and competent public servant for 34 years, and even when a tense situation arose between President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in mid-2018, he still worked to not take sides. As a result, Jayasundara said President Sirisena had not allowed him to sit in on the National Security Council meetings since October 2018.

In the Petition, Jayasundara said the threat of a terror attack was mentioned during a Defence Ministry meeting on 9 April, but he was not instructed to take emergency action. However, he had taken the step of informing the Deputy DIG of the Western Province and other high-level officials of the warning, and had therefore done what he could within his power to prevent the attack.