Bandara and Others v. Jagoda Arachchi Officer In Charge Police Station Fort and Others – sllr 2000 volume 1 page 225

In the case between Bandara and Others (university student petitioners) and Jagoda Arachchi, Officer in Charge, Police Station, Fort, and Others, the issue addressed involved the alleged infringement of fundamental rights under Articles 14(1)(a) and (b) of the Constitution, specifically freedom of speech, expression, and peaceful assembly. The court examined whether police intervention in dispersing a protest near Fort Railway Station, pursuant to Sections 95(1) and 95(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, constituted a justified limitation on these fundamental rights. The sequence of events saw the protest initially conducted lawfully, but later disrupting public order when the assembly spilled onto the main road, leading to property damage and congestion. It was held that, although t