The Supreme Court has ruled that the detention order issued by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to detain and investigate a woman arrested in connection with a heroin possession incident in 2020 is completely against the law.
The court also ordered that the government pay the petitioner a compensation of one hundred thousand rupees for the violation of fundamental human rights that occurred as a result.
The Supreme Court issued this order while deciding on a fundamental rights petition filed by a woman named Kanchana Priyadarshani Madurapperuma, a resident of Pokunuwita, Henagama, who was arrested by the Peliyagoda Special Investigation Unit.
The petitioner stated that she and her brother were arrested by officers of the Peliyagoda Special Investigation Unit in the Bandaragama area on January 30, 2020, in connection with a heroin possession incident.
The petitioner stated that she was subsequently detained and questioned by the police for seven days under Section 82(3) of the Poisons and Dangerous Drugs Act, and that she was subsequently detained and questioned under a detention order issued by the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
However, she states that the President was not acting as the Minister of Defense when a detention order was issued against her under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Accordingly, the petitioner pointed out in her petition that this detention order issued by Gotabaya Rajapaksa acting as the President was against the law.
In this regard, Justice Thurairajah stated that the power to issue detention orders to detain a person is vested in the Minister of Defence only in terms of Section 9(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides that the President also acts as the Minister of Defence, the Judge stated in his ruling that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution did not contain such a provision.
Accordingly, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution came into force on 29 October 2020 and the Judge pointed out that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was in force in this country at the time the detention order that gave rise to this case was issued.
Accordingly, the judge stated in his ruling that the detention order issued by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to detain the petitioner was contrary to the law, as there was no provision under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that the President also acts as the Minister of Defense.