Inquiry fixed in HC applications against army officials

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 January 2005, 14:06 GMT]
Corporal Somaretna Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) who was sentenced to death in the Krishanthy Cumaraswamy rape and murder case submitted his objection in the Jaffna High Court Wednesday in several Habeas Corpus (HC) applications regarding missing persons after the arrest by army soldiers during the period 1996-1997. Corporal Somaretna Rajapakse is the first respondent in these HC applications and other respondents are former army commander Lionel Balagalle and SLA officials.

Petitioners in their HC applications have begged the court to order the respondents to produce their relatives, who were reported missing after the arrests by the army soldiers at Chemmani and nearby areas in Jaffna town in 1996- 1997, legal sources said.

On the direction of Judge Mr.K.P.S.Varatharajah, Corporal Somaretna Rajapakse himself prepared his objection and affidavits and handed over to the Registrar as no lawyer had come forward to represent him in courts, legal sources said.

The Judge thereafter put off the inquiry into these HC applications for a later date and ordered the prison authorities that Corporal Rajapakse be kept in remand in Welikada jail, legal sources said.