A writ petition filed by former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, requesting an interim injunction to suspend the trial before the Permanent High Court regarding the abduction and disappearance of 11 youths, will be taken up before a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on January 28, 2025. The Supreme Court made this decision on October 23, 2024.
The petition was scheduled to be heard before a Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Sobitha Rajakaruna, Menaka Wijesundera, Sampath Abeykoon Mayadunne Corea, and Chamath Morais on October 23, 2024. However, the hearing was postponed to another date as the judges of the bench did not sit to hear the case on that day.
Karannagoda faces 667 charges as the 14th accused in the case before the Colombo High Court concerning the abduction and disappearance of 11 youths in Colombo and surrounding areas in 2008. The trial is to be held before a three-judge High Court bench. There are 14 defendants in the case, and Karannagoda has sought an interim injunction to halt the trial. The Court of Appeal issued an interim order on 25 June, 2023, to halt hearing the case until the ruling of the writ petition is delivered
In his petition, Karannagoda has requested that notice be issued to the respondents, including the Attorney General, and that an interim injunction be granted to suspend the trial proceedings of the related indictments.
