The Court of Appeal is set to revisit today (28) the writ petition submitted by former State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief, retired Major General Suresh Sallay, contesting his arrest and continued custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) over the probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
The case was heard yesterday (27) before a two-judge Court of Appeal panel made up of President Justice Rohana Abeysooriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.
At yesterday’s hearing, Deputy Solicitor General Suharshi Herath, representing the respondents among them CID Director Shani Abeysekara put forward detailed arguments against granting the petition.
She told the court that a statement given by former CID Deputy Inspector General Prasad Ranasinghe pointed to alleged obstruction of the Easter Sunday investigation by Sallay.
On that basis, the Deputy Solicitor General asked the bench to throw out the petition outright, without moving to a full hearing on its merits.
Having heard arguments from both sides, the judges decided to call the matter again today for continued consideration, with the court likely to set a new date for further proceedings.
Sallay, the former SIS head, was taken into CID custody on February 25 in connection with allegations tied to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, and he remains in detention under a court order.