Hewa Maddumage Karunapala and others Vs. Jayantha Prema Kumara Siriwardhana and others – SC FR/97/2017-2017

In the case between Hewa Maddumage Karunapala, Pallekkamkanamge Dona Kumudini, the Child Petitioner, and Jayantha Prema Kumara Siriwardhana (the 1st Respondent, school authorities, and the State), the Supreme Court addressed the issue of alleged physical assault, resulting in injuries to a minor, and the failure of school staff to provide timely medical care. The court held that the Child Petitioner’s fundamental rights under Article 11 of the Constitution were violated due to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment by the 1st Respondent, a school teacher, and confirmed the State’s liability for inadequate institutional response. The principle reaffirmed was that corporal punishment in schools contravenes both constitutional protections and international obligations under the UN Convention