Wickremasinghage Francis Kulasooriya and Devamuni Lakshman De Silva v. Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Kirindiwela and Others – SC APPEAL 52/2021-2023

In the case between Wickremasinghage Francis Kulasooriya and Devamuni Lakshman De Silva (petitioners) and the Officer-in-Charge, Police Station Kirindiwela; the Attorney General; and the Magistrate of Pugoda (respondents), the court addressed whether the Court of Appeal’s writ jurisdiction should be exercised where alternative revisionary remedies are available, and whether an Attorney General’s communication under section 398(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code bound the Magistrate to discharge the petitioners. The appeal arose from the Magistrate’s refusal to discharge the petitioners after a suspect’s death in police custody. It was determined that the petitioners’ failure to exhaust available revisionary remedies was fatal to their writ application. The findings established that the Atto