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Rights hearing filed by exporter against inspector fixed for Jan. 27

by Sarath Malalasekera

The hearing of a fundamental rights application filed by Ashley Noel Henricus, a garment manufacturer and a exporter residing at Edmonton Road, Colombo 6 against Inspector Mahesh Perera of the Bandarawela Police Station was fixed for January 27, 2003 by the Supreme Court.

The petitioner cited Inspector Perera, the IGP and the Attorney General as respondents.

The Bench comprised Justice S. W. B. Wadugodapitiya, Justice P. Edussuriya and Justice T. B. Weerasuriya directed the respondents to file answer on or before November 29, 2002.

M. Iqbal Mohamed, Senior Counsel for Henricus, who supported the fundamental rights application, said four similar applications had been filed by four others who were also arrested with Henricus.

Henricus states that he left Colombo on July 5, 2002 afternoon to his holiday bungalow with his friend Arthur Ellis Keller. He arrived there in the night. The next morning, the petitioner and his friends constructed a tree house in his compound. He states that on July 6, 2002, he and Keller and his cousin Robin Chester Leitch after collecting a flask of coffee from his aunt, left in his double cab baring registration number WPGB 7144 for a hunt. The petitioner took with him his shot gun together with its licence, a knife, a rope and an electric torch.

Henricus states that on July 6, all six of them left for hunting in the double cab driven by Arthur Keller. They drove towards Bandarawela Town and returned towards Welimada.

While travelling towards Welimada, they stopped the vehicle after they saw some animals beside the road. Nimal Gunaratne, who had with him Jayasena's shot gun fired at the animals. One animal fell down. Gunaratne brought it to the double cab. It was a deer. It was put into the back of the double cab and they proceeded towards Welimada.

The petitioner states that when they passed Downside Estate Tea Factory and travelled a short distance at the junction where three roads joined there were four policemen. Two had T 56 guns and one policeman signalled them to stop with an electric torch.

They stopped. Having ordered them out of the vehicle, the policeman who searched the double cab, found the dead deer, the two shot guns, the ropes, the knives and the axe.

The policemen examined the gun licences. They said that although they would like to let them go, they had to get permission from their OIC. They requested for a cellular phone and as it was not available, one policeman together with Jayasena and Nimal Gunaratne went to a nearby house to inform the OIC of Uva - Paranagama Police station. They came back about 10 minutes later and said the OIC had been informed and he would be coming soon.

Henricus states that consequent to investigation conducted on a complaint made against the first respondent, a finding has been made that the first respondent had filed misleading-untrue B report alleging that the petitioner and the others were detected in possession of a hand bomb. Accordingly further reports were filed by the ASP (ll), Bandarawela in Magistrate's Court, Welimada in case No.BR 159/2002 on July 18, 2002 and July 22, 2002.

The petitioner states that when the four police officers who first stopped the double cab examined it, no hand bomb was found. No search was done by the first respondent or any officer under his supervision of the double cab in the presence of the suspects and the alleged hand bomb recovered.

The suspects were not informed by the first respondent or any officer under him of the discovery of the alleged hand bomb. The suspects were not questioned about the alleged hand bomb.

The petitioner states that in the aforementioned circumstances due to the arbitrary, capricious, malicious and illegal acts of the first respondent the fundamental rights of the petitioner guaranteed under Articles 11, 12 (1), 13 (2) and 13 (3) of the Constitution have been violated.

M. Iqbal Mohamed with M. I. M. Izhar and J. M. Rizvi appeared for Henricus.

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