Supreme Court overturns PCoI findings against former Solicitor General

The Supreme Court today quashed the findings, report and recommendations made by the Presidential Commission on Political Victimisation (PCoI) in relation to former Solicitor General Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe, President’s Counsel.

 

The Presidential Commission on Political Victimisation (PCoI), commonly known as the Upali Abeyratne Commission was appointed by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

 

However, the Court found that the Commission's proceedings in this case fell short of legal requirements.

 

Wickramasinghe, a senior legal officer and President’s Counsel, was appointed as Solicitor General on May 10, 2019. She was interdicted in September 2019 and later placed on compulsory leave in October 2020, pending the outcome of a preliminary investigation. She subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the legality of the adverse findings made against her by the Commission.

 

The three-judge- bench comprising Justices Preethi Padman Surasena, Gamini Amarasekara, and Achala Wengappuli ruled that the Commission’s members, including retired Supreme Court Judge Upali Abeyratne, retired Court of Appeal Judge Chandrasiri Jayatilake, and former IGP Chandra Fernando, had not complied with key provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, specifically Sections 16 and 23.

 

The Court further observed that there was no material to support that the Commission had conducted its inquiries lawfully and found ample evidence to conclude that the process had been fundamentally flawed. The adverse recommendations made against Wickramasinghe, the Court stated, were therefore invalid.