Court of Appeal bars arrest of Tiran Alles, Ceylon Newspapers officials
The Court of Appeal has issued a writ order preventing the arrest or detention of former Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and directors, representatives and employees of Ceylon Newspapers (Pvt) Ltd over a complaint arising from a commercial transaction.
The order was issued by a Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Shashi Mahendran and Pradeep Hettiarachchi following the hearing of a writ petition filed by Ceylon Newspapers, which publishes the Mawbima and Ceylon Today newspapers.
According to the petition, the dispute arose over several post-dated cheques issued in connection with the purchase of paper from L.P.L. Kesara Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Kesara Lanka subsequently lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department, which launched an investigation and reported facts to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.
The petitioners argued that the matter was a civil dispute arising from a commercial transaction and that treating it as a criminal matter was unlawful.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Mahendran, with the concurrence of the other member of the bench, determined that the matter concerned a commercial transaction and that sufficient evidence had not been presented to establish criminal wrongdoing by the petitioners.
The court consequently issued a writ preventing the arrest or detention of Alles and the company’s directors, representatives and employees in connection with the complaint.
The order was issued against the Inspector General of Police, the Director of the CID and the Officer-in-Charge of the CID’s Commercial Crime Investigation Division.
However, the court made clear that the ruling does not prevent authorities from continuing investigations or taking appropriate legal action if new evidence emerges.
President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva and a team of lawyers appeared for the petitioners on the instructions of attorney Sanath Wijewardena. (Newswire)
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