Mahapitiya Gedera Shanuka Gihan Karunaratne and Purijjala Puwakpitiyegedara Amila Dilshan Puwakpitiya vs Lory Koswatte et al. – SC FR APPLICATION NO. 139/12-2022

In the case between Mahapitiya Gedera Shanuka Gihan Karunaratne and Purijjala Puwakpitiyegedera Amila Dilshan Puwakpitiya (minors, represented by their next friends) and the Deputy Principal of the school (1st Respondent) along with other school and state officials, the court addressed the issue of whether corporal punishment inflicted upon minor students constituted a violation of fundamental rights under Articles 11 and 12(1) of the Constitution. It was held that the caning administered by the 1st Respondent amounted to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, thereby infringing the Petitioners’ constitutional protections. The findings established that both national laws and international conventions, specifically the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, prohibit such disciplinary m