The services of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon have been temporarily suspended effective from today following the interim order issued by the Supreme Court, Samagi Jana Balawegaya Anti-Corruption Movement Member Ananda Palitha said.
Speaking to the Media following the hearing, Ananda Palitha, a petitioner in the case, said the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court took a unanimous decision to issue the interim order against the IGP.
Meanwhile, Attorney-at-Law Namal Rajapaksha who represented a petitioner in the case, told the media that the IGP has been suspended from the position until the conclusion of the case.
He further said that apart from the interim order, the Supreme Court also ordered the President to name a suitable person for the post of Acting IGP, during the period of the interim order being enforced against Tennakoon.
Nine petitions were filed, including by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Anti-Corruption Movement, the Young Journalists Association of Sri Lanka, and Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, challenging the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the IGP of Sri Lanka.
The petitioners had sought an interim order preventing Deshabandu Tennakoon from functioning as the IGP due to his past record, including his previous conviction by the Supreme Court for having violated the fundamental rights of an individual at the Mirihana Police Station in 2011. (Newswire)
