In a strongly worded judgement condemning police violence, the Supreme Court has ruled that the fundamental rights of a lorry driver were violated by two officers of the Thalatuoya Police Station in Kandy, reiterating that the time has come for the Government to urgently address the systemic problem of police brutality.
A three-judge bench comprising Justice Priyantha Fernando and Justice Sampath Wijeratne, concurring with the judgement delivered by Justice Arjuna Obeyesekere, held that the petitioner’s rights guaranteed under Articles 11 and 12(1) of the Constitution had been infringed through assault, torture, and inhuman treatment inflicted by two police officers.
“This Court has repeatedly stated that police brutality in whatever form and in whatever degree must stop. Unfortunately, judgements pronounced by this Court have fallen on deaf ears, both of the Inspector General of Police and the National Police Commission. The time is therefore right for the Government to intervene, examine the reasons for police brutality and take action,” Justice Obeyesekere observed.
The Court further observed that while offenders must be dealt with strictly according to the law, the use of violence and degrading treatment by law enforcement cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
“If a person has committed an offence, that person must certainly be arrested in terms of the law, produced before a Magistrate, and the law must take its course,” the judgement states. “Whatever may be the circumstances that lead to an arrest, every citizen is entitled to be treated with the dignity that goes with being human.”
The petitioner, a 46-year-old lorry driver from the Kandy District, was employed to transport sand from Mahiyanganaya using a tipper truck owned by a police officer named Ranaweera. On 26 February 2019, he was charged before the Mahiyanganaya Magistrate’s Court for transporting sand without a permit in the same vehicle.
Following the charge, the petitioner informed Ranaweera that he would no longer transport sand without the legally required permit. He states that this angered Ranaweera, who was inconvenienced by having to hire another driver.
On April 1, 2019, after taking the truck for repairs and returning home around 5.45 p.m., the petitioner parked the vehicle near his residence. Due to security concerns, he was instructed by Ranaweera to sleep inside the truck, as he had done previously.
Around 11.50 p.m., the petitioner alleges he was abruptly awakened by two Police Constables accompanied by the first respondent, Police Constable Jayakody. The officers forcibly entered the truck, and Jayakody allegedly struck him on the head with a helmet. When the petitioner shouted for help, the officers pulled him out, threw him to the ground, and kicked him repeatedly on his back and chest. Hearing his screams, the petitioner’s wife and children rushed to the scene. He further stated that the third respondent, an Inspector of Police at the Thalatuoya Police Station, was present and issuing instructions to the others.
The officers then lifted him by the head and legs and threw him into a police jeep without informing him of the reason for his arrest. During the journey to the police station, he claims he was kicked again by unidentified officers.
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