JUDGMENT

This is a petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus in pursuant to Article 141 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

In this application, the Petitioner contests the unlawful arrest and subsequent detention of his son—the corpus—allegedly detained by and currently in the custody of the Sri Lanka Army.

The Petitioner seeks a writ directing the immediate release of his son from such detention.

The Petitioner seeks relief from this Court to;

a) Issue notice on the Respondents b) Grant and issue a mandate in the nature of writ of habeas corpus to produce the corpus before this court to be dealt with according to law;

c) Grant and issue a mandate in the nature of writ of habeas corpus releasing/discharging the corpus forthwith from detention/custody;

d) In the first instance, to refer the matter for an inquiry and report, to the Chief Magistrate – Colombo under the proviso to Article 141 of the constitution;

e) Award exemplary compensation in a sum determined by the court

f) Grant the Petitioner costs of this Application or in the circumstances of the case grant the Petitioner exemplary costs at the discretion of this court

g) Make such other order/direction, as this court shall seem just & equitable, as provided for by the constitution.

h) Grant such other and further reliefs as to this court shall seem fit.

The corpus, who was engaged in collecting metal and plastic at the Meethotamulla garbage site, was abducted by unidentified individuals on 02^nd of February 2012. This incident was witnessed by a local resident, „Mohammed Hussain‟. During the abduction, a magazine cartridge was dropped by the abductors and subsequently handed over to the Police. The family of the corpus promptly lodged a complaint with the Wellampitiya Police Station. Despite this complaint, no information about the corpus’s whereabouts was obtained. Consequently, the Petitioner and his family sought assistance from various organizations to locate the corpus. The Petitioner asserts that, notwithstanding these efforts, he received no information regarding the whereabouts of the corpus, and the Police were unable to trace him.

On 10^th March 2012, an attempt to abduct the corpus’s brother, Ravindra Udeshantha Dodampe Gamage, was thwarted, and four individuals were apprehended. Mohammed Hussain, the earlier witness to the corpus's abduction, identified two of these apprehended individuals as being present during the corpus’s abduction. The Petitioner promptly reported this identification to the Wellampitiya Police. The Petitioner was informed by the Police that the apprehended individuals were members of the Sri Lanka Army and would be produced in court. According to the aforementioned reasons the Petitioner alleges that the corpus is being unlawfully detained by the Sri Lanka Army.

However, on 11^th of March 2012, the Petitioner was informed by the Police that the apprehended individuals had been released to the custody of the Sri Lanka Army and had not been presented before the Court. The Petitioner contends that no proper investigation has been conducted regarding the whereabouts of the corpus. Furthermore, there is no evidence whatsoever that either the Sri Lanka Police or the Sri Lanka Army having conducted any investigation on the incident and the allegations.

On 22^nd of February 2013, the Court of Appeal referred this application to the Chief Magistrate in Colombo for an inquiry and a report regarding the arrest and alleged detention in question. The Chief Magistrate conducted an inquiry and submitted findings to the Court of Appeal on 1^st of August 2019. In the report, the Chief Magistrate concluded that an abduction has been confirmed and that the Police have not conducted a proper investigation regarding it.

Upon review of the materials before us, it is clear that the identity card numbers and photographs of the individuals in question were obtained from the Police when handing them over. Not only have the police failed to conduct an investigation into the matter, but