SC holds Vavuniya pass system violates FR

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 September 2002, 19:16 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court held Thursday that the security pass system in Vavuniya under thePeoples Alliance government was a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens. Residents and visitors had to obtain special security permits to to live, stay or travel outside Vavuniya and Mannar. The system was abolished after the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers signed a ceasefire agreement in February this year.

The Fundamental Rights application by the petitioner Armugam Vadivelu residing at Sithamparapuram refugee camp in Vavuniya came up for inquiry before a three member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Mr. Mark Fernando Thursday.

The petitioner cited the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Attorney General as respondents in his petition. The petitioner stated that the government had violated his fundamental rights by ordering him to obtain security pass to travel from Vavuniya to the other parts of the country.

After inquiry the Supreme Court made order in favour of the petitioner.

" Several clauses of the Constitution of the country, which guarantees the fundamental rights of citizens had been violated by the scheme implemented in Vavuniya requiring the people to obtain security passes to travel from Vavuniya to SLA held territory under the previous regime", said the SC in its order.

The SC further ordered the State to pay a sum of thirty thousand rupees as compensation to the petitioner.