Petitioner v. Attorney General and Others – CA/WRIT/0085/2020-2021

In the case between Gihan Aruna Bandara Herath Pilapitiya (Petitioner) and Hon. M. M. M. Mihal (Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court, Nugegoda), Hon. Attorney General, and C. D. Wickramaratne (Acting Inspector General of Police) (Respondents), the court addressed the lawfulness of the Magistrate’s order naming the Petitioner as a suspect and proceeding against him for alleged abetment and conspiracy under the Penal Code and Article 111 C(2) of the Constitution. It was held that the Magistrate’s Court acted without jurisdiction by making the Petitioner, who was allegedly the victim of the interference, a suspect for abetment of the same offence. The legal principle reaffirmed states that a victim of an alleged interference cannot be charged as an abettor of that interference in law. The decision