July 08, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s highest court has found that two farmers were unlawfully treated by police during a public demonstration held in 2018, criticising the authorities’ failure to address the growing problem of wild elephant incursions into rural communities.
The Supreme Court determined that the arrest and subsequent remanding of the farmers constituted a violation of their fundamental rights.
The protest, staged along the Polonnaruwa–Mahiyanganaya road, was intended to draw attention to the increasing danger posed by wild elephants entering agricultural villages—an issue that had gone largely unaddressed by state agencies at the time.
The court’s judgment makes clear that peaceful expressions of public concern must not be met with arbitrary police action.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Yasantha Kodagoda with agreement from Chief Justice Murdhu Fernando and Justice S. Thurairaja, held the then-Officer-in-Charge of the Aralaganwila Police, S. M. L. R. Bandara, personally liable. He has been ordered to pay Rs. 30,000 in compensation to each of the affected individuals, R. A. Gamini Jayaratna and H. R. Eranda, from his own funds.
In a strongly worded judgment, the bench stressed that remanding individuals purely on the basis of police requests is inconsistent with judicial responsibility. It reiterated that bail should ordinarily be granted, and that the denial of bail should only occur under legally justified exceptional circumstances.
In addition to addressing the conduct of law enforcement, the court turned its attention to the root of the protest: the threat posed by wild elephants. The Director General of Wildlife was ordered to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent these animals from straying into populated areas—a long-standing issue affecting many rural communities.
Copies of the judgment have been sent to several senior officials, including the Attorney General, Inspector General of Police, and heads of the Wildlife, Forest Conservation, and Mahaweli authorities. These agencies have been instructed to take appropriate follow-up action, ensuring that both the rights of citizens and the safety of their communities are more robustly protected in the future.
