Easter attack compensation case drops Hemasiri Fernando and Pujith Jayasundara as defendants after the injured plaintiff’s request.
The Easter attack compensation case against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara has ended at the plaintiff’s request.
On August 6, the Colombo District Court permitted both men to be removed as defendants from the civil action filed by attorney Moditha T.B. Ekanayake.
Ekanayake suffered serious injuries in the suicide bombing at Colombo’s Shangri-La Hotel on April 21, 2019. He says the attack caused permanent disabilities and medical expenses.
He filed the action seeking Rs. 500 million in compensation.
The original lawsuit named 12 defendants. They included former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe, Fernando, Jayasundara and the Attorney General.
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Ekanayake alleged that the defendants failed to exercise due diligence and reasonable care to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks.
He named the Attorney General on the basis of the State’s alleged vicarious liability for negligence by public officials.
When the case returned to court, Ekanayake said he did not intend to continue the Easter attack compensation case against Fernando and Jayasundara.
The lawsuit identified them as the third and fourth defendants.
Ekanayake said he made the request because a three-judge Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar had sentenced both men to death over failures connected to the attacks.
Lawyers representing the remaining defendants raised no objection. The District Court therefore approved the request and removed Fernando and Jayasundara from the proceedings.
The ruling concerns only their status in this civil lawsuit. It does not amount to release from custody or overturn the separate criminal convictions.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had also previously been removed from the compensation action at Ekanayake’s request.
Meanwhile, attorney Pulasthi Rupasinghe, representing former President Maithripala Sirisena, said he would challenge whether the case against his client was legally maintainable.
The District Court directed the remaining defendants to submit written arguments on that preliminary objection.
It then fixed the Easter attack compensation case for October 19.
