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Udatalawinna mass murder : Order today on preliminary objections

by Kumar Wethasinghe and Indeewara Thilakaratne

The Trial at Bar reserved its order for today, in connection with the five preliminary objections raised by the defence when the trial against former Deputy Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte, his two sons Lohan and Chanuka and several service personnel involving the Udatalawinna Mass Murder came up for hearing yesterday

At the outset Defence Counsel Tirantha Walaliyadde and Anil Silva raised five preliminary objections and moved that the accused be discharged in the light of serious legal lapses on the part of the prosecution. Counsel Walaliyadde said the Attorney General could come either by information exhibited or indictment to initiate proceedings against the accused.

In the instant case the Attorney General had exhibited an information and simultaneously served the accused with an indictment.

The indictment cannot be forwarded without a magisterial inquiry and a valid committal to the High Court. Therefore the indictment here was bad in law.

Defence Counsel Anil Silva submitted that the Chief Justice had no power to fix a trial outside the zone within which the offence allegedly took place on December 5, 2001 (Kandy). He cited the 13th Amendment to the constitution.

He also said it was unfair to deprive person's right to be heard before a jury in a case of capital offences.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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