Hejaaz Hizbullah, prisoner of PTA

Puttalam High Court has said it had no jurisdiction to grant bail to Hejaaz Hizbullah, a prominent lawyer arrested under PTA following the Easter Sunday attack for his suspected link to the Islamic extremism. 

Puttalam HC has now instructed the defendant to seek the bail from the Court of Appeal. But CA had already instructed the defendant to seek the bail from HC as the Attorney General department had raised no objection to it. Meanwhile many newspapers reported on 16 December 2021 that 10 persons who were detained under PTA for seven months were granted bail by Valaichchenai Magistrate’s Court on 10 December 2021 on the instructions and recommendation of the Attorney General’s office. I am not sure how it was possible under the PTA.

It is my great regret that the judiciary has not gathered enough evidence over the past two years of his detention to prosecute him, nor has it the jurisdiction to grant him the bail until the trial is concluded without prolonging his detention.

One of the draconian features of the PTA is the power it gives to the police to arrest people on suspicion and to hold them in prison custody without bail until the conclusion of the trial. This can extend to several years.

Parliament, by its PTA, has usurped the jurisdiction of Magistrate’s Court and High Court to grant bail to suspects arrested under the PTA and it has usurped appellate jurisdiction of CA to review the bail orders given or refused by lower courts in such cases. Though CA has unrestricted appellate jurisdiction to review bail orders given by lower courts, it applies only to bailable offences as some senior state counsels argue. As a result, Hejaaz Hizbullah is languishing in jail for almost two years without access even to his lawyers let alone relatives. 

Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris has recently informed the diplomatic corps that after 43 years, the PTA is being amended with the objective of bringing it in line with the international norms and best practices. I am happy to learn that Eminent Professor of Law G.L. Peiris has woken up to the naked reality of the PTA. I sincerely hope he will soon wake up to the naked reality of the 20th Amendment too. 

M.A. Kaleel

Kalmunai – 05