Ariyawansha U dugamavi thana v. Commander, Sri Lanka Army – HB 02/2013-2015

In Ariyawansha Udugamavithana v. Commander, Sri Lanka Army & Others, the court addressed whether a writ of Habeas Corpus should be granted concerning an alleged abduction of the petitioner’s son, Priyantha Deshapriya Udugamavithana, purportedly by the Sri Lanka Army in 1989, with the application filed after a delay of approximately 25–26 years. It was held that while no prescribed time bar restricts the filing of a Habeas Corpus application, the extraordinary lapse of time and failure to adequately identify the responsible parties rendered the claim ineffective and purposeless. The principle reaffirmed is that delay and absence of specific evidence may disentitle a petitioner from writ relief, notwithstanding the constitutional nature of Habeas Corpus. Dahanayake and Others v. Sri Lanka In