2023-10-20
The sentencing of a former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for giving illegal orders not to arrest a suspect.
The reported sentencing of former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police, Lalith Jayasinghe, for giving illegal orders to prevent the arrest of a person allegedly involved in the shooting which resulted in the death of some persons, was a sentence of five years in prison, by the High Court Judge of Ratnapura. While the particular case may be of interest from a political point of view due to the Member of the Parliament who was later arrested and convicted and later acquitted by the Court of Appeal, this case is of enormous importance from another point of view. This is one of the unique cases in which a very senior Police officer who has held the rank of a Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police has been held guilty of giving illegal orders to an Officer-In-Charge of a Police station who was carrying out an inquiry into the relevant shootings and murders.
The importance lies in the fact that the complaints about the interferences of higher Police officers into the workings of the Police investigators who are investigating into crimes, is a complaint that is being heard so very frequently. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that such interferences have reached epidemic levels. This instance where the investigating Officer-In-Charge of the Police had the courage to complain about this incident and pursue the complaint over a period of almost eight years till a conviction has been reached should set an example for others who are facing similar situations throughout the country.
The importance of this case lies in the fact of the key role played by the Officers-In-Charge of the Police who according to the Criminal Procedure Code of Sri Lanka have the duty to conduct inquiries into all crimes which are being reported in their respective jurisdictions. It is the function of the Officers-in-Charge of the Police to ensure investigations into all crimes that keep the security of the society and also to provide security to the people. People can walk on the roads peacefully and conduct their daily affairs such as small businesses and many other transactions and also conduct their neighbourhood relationships peacefully, only due to the fact that the legal system of Sri Lanka has provided like it has also provided in almost all countries for the function of the Police to intervene into any kind of criminal interference into the freedoms of the people by exercising the powers given to them as investigators into crimes.