The Supreme Court issued an open warrant today (21) for the arrest of former State Minister Premalal Jayasekara, ordering that he be taken into custody and produced before the court, following his failure to appear. It is reported that the Supreme Court ordered the issuance of this warrant through the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and further directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take all necessary steps to execute it promptly.
When the case was taken up today, Premalal Jayasekara failed to appear in court; Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, informed the court that he is currently abroad.
Additionally, the court ordered that the other two defendants, who were present, be remanded in custody.
The Ratnapura High Court had previously sentenced Premalal Jayasekara and two other defendants to death on charges of murdering an individual during a shooting attack on a campaign rally held in the Kahawatta area for the then-presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, during the 2015 presidential election. However, the Court of Appeal, upon hearing an appeal filed against this verdict, subsequently ordered the acquittal and release of all three individuals. The Supreme Court, having concluded the hearing of an appeal petition filed by the aggrieved party against that verdict on September 4th, has issued notices ordering the three defendants to appear before the court today.