Bakmeeange Gedara Sunil Ananda Senevirathne v. Athula Amarasinghe – SC APPEAL NO. 52/2016-2023

In the case between Bakmeeange Gedara Sunil Ananda Senevirathne (Plaintiff) and Athula Amarasinghe, Officer-in-Charge, Hasalaka Police Station (Defendant), the court addressed whether the protective scope of Section 88 of the Police Ordinance extends to acts committed maliciously by a police officer, and whether failure to adhere to notice and time requirements under Section 88 is detrimental to a plaintiff’s action. It was held that Section 88 shields acts performed under police authority regardless of the officer’s motive, including those done maliciously, and that procedural non-compliance with Section 88 is fatal to the plaintiff’s claim. The legal reasoning reaffirmed that statutory protection applies irrespective of good faith or malice, with strict adherence to procedural requiremen