Court rules detention of minor illegal, orders release

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 March 2008, 12:10 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Monday directed the prison authorities to hand over a Tamil underage boy detained at Pallekelle detention centre to his mother and to submit a report to the Court on the incident af the next hearing of the case. Chief Justice Sarath Silva said it is unlawful for law enforcement authority to detain an underage boy in a detention centre, legal sources said.

The fundamental right violation application filed by the mother of the underage boy came up for inquiry Monday before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court.

The bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath Silva, Justices Nihal Gamini Amaratunge and Andrew Somawanse, legal sources said.

The petitioner sought the court to order the release of the boy as he was a minor.

The court was told that the boy was 14 years old when he was taken into custody in the Batticaloa district by the law enforcement authority.