SRI LANKA: Extraordinary delay in adjudication; Case drags on for more than 11 years 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the extraordinary delay in the case of Mr. T. Lilananda, who has been waiting for justice for over 11 years. Mr. T. Lilananda insists that there is no evidence to connect him to the charges but he has been unable to prove his innocence due to the long delay in the hearing and the determining of his case. According to him, due to the delay of his case in court, Mr. Lilananda’s reputation has been adversely affected and he has been interdicted from his job without any pay for eleven years.

In many Asian countries, delay of justice is a very serious situation. The cases are often pending in courts for over a decade, while innocent people suffer. This is a gross violation of human rights and is in violation of Article 14(3)(c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Sri Lanka is a signatory.

Your urgent action is required to correct this matter. Please send a letter to the local authorities to take urgent action to bring this case to an end without further delay.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Mr. T. Lilananda, resident of 2B, 199L, Raddolugama
Case No.: 8514/96 of Colombo High Court – Court No. 4 – Ref. of the Attorney General PRI/35/96
Case status: Extraordinary delay in adjudication; the victim was arrested in February 1994 and detained for two and a half years without bail. His case has been pending in the high court for more than eleven years.

Case details:

The extra ordinary delay in this case amounts to a clear violation of article 14(3)(c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Sri Lanka is a signatory.

Mr. T. Lilananda of 2B, 199L, Raddolugama was arrested in February 1994 and was detained without bail for two and a half years. The charges against him are fraud relating to accounts and Mr. Lilananda was accused of aiding and abetting  in the case. The indictment was filed at the Colombo High Court in 1996 and the first case hearing was held in July 1996. However, the trial is still pending in the high court despite 11 years have already passed since his arrest. The incident around which the charges were filed goes back to the period from 1990 to 1993. Mr. Lilananda stated that there is no evidence of any sort to connect him to the charges but he has been unable to prove his innocence due to the delay in the hearing and the determining of his case.

Due to the long delay of his case in the court, Mr. Lilananda alleges that he has been adversely affected by the attack on his reputation and that he has been interdicted from his job without any pay for 11 years. Also, he has qualified himself by passing all the exams to be a lawyer and file for admission as a lawyer has been submitted to the Supreme Court in 1998.  However, he is unable to take oaths as an Attorney-at-Law because his trial is pending. He is 53 years old now and there is only two more years before retirement.  However, even up to his retirement it looks as if his case may not end.  He feels that despite his innocence, he will not be able to get his job back and will also lose his pension.

In addition, Mr. Lilananda was in a remand prison for two and a half years before being released on bail with his relatives and friends having deposited money and property as security. These persons are now requesting their money and property to be released which cannot be done due to the delays in the case. The case is called almost once a month and each time Mr. Lilananda has to pay lawyer’s fees, although the case is not taken up for hearing. By now, five judges have presided over the case and left and there have also been five state counsels. However, no one has taken serious action to speed up his trial. Thus, even if Mr. Lilananda is acquitted at the end of the trial, as he feels he will be, there will not be real redress for the long period under which he has been subjected to this trial.  Delays of this sort are a grave injustice to a person and a gross violation of human rights.

The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the ICCPR and Sri Lanka has ratified this Convention and is a party to the Protocol.  On two occasions, in separate cases the UN Human Rights Committee has held that undue delay in investigations and holding of trials is a violation of the Covenant and Sri Lanka has been held to have violated the covenant in this manner on both these occasions. However, delays in these two earlier cases were much less than the delay in this case.

The AHRC has raised our concern on several occasions that delays in adjudication are the main cause for the increase of crime in Sri Lanka.  As for complainants this means that there is no prompt punishment for criminals and for innocent persons accused of crimes, people are unnecessarily harassed for years and virtually their lives and reputations and those of their families are severely harmed. The AHRC urges a speedy inquiry into this case and for the authorities to take speedy action to bring this matter to an end as soon as possible.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or an email to the addresses below and express your concern about this serious case.

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