Sri Lanka: MagistrateÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mother threatened for not granting bail to Malaka Silva

Wednesday, 19 September 2007

A group of unidentified men threatened the mother of a magistrate who refused to grant bail to non-cabinet Labour Minister, Mervyn Silva’s son, Malaka Silva, last week who is detained on charge of assaulting a chartered accountant.

Condemning the threat on Magistrate’s mother, the Judicial Services Association (JSA) charged on Tuesday the threat was an attempt to interfere with the judiciary in regard to the case.

Kandy District Judge and JSA Secretary Nissanka Bandula Karunarathna in a statement said an unidentified group went to Magistrate Darshika Wimalasiri’s house in Peliyagoda and threatened the magistrate’s mother.

They went to the house around 9.45 pm, got the door opened and told her in a threatening manner to get her daughter agreed to grant bail to the Minister’s son.

“The Minister has sent us to tell the Magistrate to grant bail to his son”, the group had told the Magistrate’s mother.

They had called at the Magistrate’s residence on the following morning too and asked the mother if she had given the message to her daughter.

In reply, the mother told them that she could not convey that of sort of message to her daughter.

Later the Magistrate’s mother had lodged a complaint with Peliyagoda police.

This incident prompted the judges association to immediately summon an executive committee meeting at which they issued a statement condemning the alleged incident.

“Irrespective of the powers and positions the persons involved in the alleged threat must be brought before the law and punished”, the statement said.

“Any person who challenges and threatens the impartiality and independence of the judges and the judiciary would not be allowed to run away from the law,” the JSA said.

The judges association also hoped that the Police would hasten its investigation and take immediate action to bring the culprits before the law.

“The person responsible for making the alleged threat must be brought to book whatever their positions are, the JSA said.

The threat by the unidentified group had come a day before the Additional Magistrate’s order last Thursday in which she refused to grant bail to Malaka Silva as he was arrested for possessing a firearm and that he is facing a charge under the Firearms Ordinance which is a non-bailable offence.

Following the incident, Judicial Service Commission (JSC) had directed the Judicial Security Division head SSP Caesar Ranaweera to ensure necessary protection to the Magistrate.

The case is to taken up before the Mt Lavinia Magistrate today.

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Jay said:

Since when had the Sri Lankan judiciary operated in an independent manner to reflect truth and justice in the framework of a just legal system. In a failed state like Sri Lanka, the government is the judge, jury and the executioner. The judiciary is just a body with no authority that acts and implements the whims and fancies of the executive and never work on the basis of justice. It is just a mere arm of the government machinery and used for hoodwinking tactics. Here, there is no question that the government, the military officials are above the law, especially when it comes to mass murdering the Tamil population and destroying their livelihood and their properties.
The above story of threatening the mother of the judge for release of the culprits or to pass verdicts in favour of the criminals are only some of the acts highlighted on the wrong doings of the government. This is nothing new.

2007-09-19 15:26:38

Kingsly said:

I have to agree with Jay. The independance of the judiciary has been deterioring very rapidly during the last decade and the law of the jungle has been taking over with equal rapidity. If the judiciary now realizes, perhaps when it comes home knocking, it may be a bit too late in the day. Have we not heard the axiom that "all are equal before the law"? In Sri Lanka it looks like a pre-historic statement. Looking at it from another view point, this situation, if allowed to continue for much longer, the currently emerging vigilante type of meting out justice would take over for good - not that there is any shortage of it even now. Look at the gun toting politicos running wild with ostensible blessing and encouragement of the power that be, threatening all and sundry including the judiciary, ably assisted by the medical profession! If those in power or currently in opposition who were in power earlier want to conveniently pretend that they do not know what is happening - so that they can divert public attention to hide their own sins it is their privilege as everything else is. Fortunately for them, the Sri Lankan population has an extremely short memory. Take for example the current opposition composed of 'driven snow' type clean individuals. Only now they realize that hose who have left them high and dry seeking perks and previleges are not only traiters and criminals who have committed several crimes. Funnily enough those crimes were committed when they were within their ranks and files! What is more they would embrace them back in their fold without batting an eyelid when they cross-over back! Law and justice are meant to be enfroced only on the common poor man and that too when it suits them.

2007-09-23 16:02:09

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