194th Day of the Main Easter Attack Trial – HC (TAB) 2972/21
Date: 26th May 2026|
Venue: Special Permanent Three-Judge High Court (Trial-at-Bar), 2nd Floor, MCC Building, Adhikarana Mawatha, Colombo 12.
The matter was taken up before the Trial-at-Bar. All accused were present, except the 17th accused, who had passed away. The 12th and 13th accused were represented by Mr Ravindu Yasas AAL. While the 18th accused was represented by Mr. Kaneel Maddumage, AAL.
The Prosecution Witnesses numbered 1375, 1388, 1389, 1390, 1391, 1392, and 1393 were present before Court. The prosecution informed the Court that the Prosecution Witness No. 1374 had passed away and produced the relevant death certificate. The prosecution further amended its witness list by adding Prosecution Witness No. 2231, Mohamed Ismail Mohamed, Prosecution Witness No. 2232, Gnanamutthu Rathnasingham, and Prosecution Witness No. 2233, Seyyadu Ahmadu Asmiya. Thereafter, Prosecution Witness No. 1375 and 1392 were temporarily released.
Prosecution Witnesses No. 1391, 1393, and 1388 gave their evidence-in-chief and were subjected to cross-examination. The Prosecution informed the Court that Prosecution Witness No. 2230, Ranganath Thilakeratne, was expected to give evidence from the Australian High Commission. Accordingly, the Prosecution requested the Court to issue summons requiring him to give evidence on 2nd June 2026 and to direct the Victim and Witness Protection Authority to provide the necessary facilities for the purpose. The Court made the relevant orders accordingly.
Prosecution Witness No. 1390 gave evidence-in-chief and was cross-examined by the 9th accused. During his testimony, the Prosecution marked as P811 the guest register maintained at the Blue Eye Inn holiday resort operated by the witness, which contained details of persons who had stayed at the establishment. The page containing entries relating to 16th, 17th, and 18th November 2018 was marked as P811(a)(1), while the page containing entries for 5th, 6th, and 7th October 2018 was marked as P812(a).
The prosecution informed the Court that, in relation to the voir dire inquiry of the 18th accused, it had observed that a time recorded in the MLEF, which formed the basis for preparing the relevant MLR, had been incorrectly typed. Accordingly, the Prosecution moved under Section 431 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979, for summons to be issued on PW9, Dr. Binosh Nimalka Perera, requiring him to appear before Court and give further evidence for the purpose of correcting the error. Junior counsel appearing for the 18th accused informed the Court that Mr. Kaneel Maddumage AAL intended to object to the application and requested permission to make such objections on the following day, 27th May 2026. The Court allowed the request and permitted the objections to be raised on that date.
Prosecution Witness No. 1389 thereafter gave evidence-in-chief and was cross-examined by the 5th and 11th accused. During the cross-examination, the statement made by the witness on 23rd August 2019 containing the words, “බුදු පිළිම වහන්සේලා දෙන්නා මුනින් අතට හරවා තිබුණා” was marked as contradiction 5D1. The Court further ordered that summons be issued to Prosecution Witnesses Nos. 1401 and 1399 requiring them to appear before Court on the following day.
The matter was fixed to be called again on 27th May 2026 at 10.00 a.m. for further trial.
