Date: 24th August 2026
Case No: HC (TAB) 2972/21
Court: Special Permanent Three-Judge High Court (Trial-at-Bar)
Venue: Special Permanent Three-Judge High Court (Trial-at-Bar), 2nd Floor, MCC Building, Adhikarana Mawatha, Colombo 12.
The case was taken up before the Trial-at-Bar with all accused present, except the 17th accused, who had passed away.
The 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 18th, 19th and 20th to 25th accused were represented, while the others appeared in person. The defence trial continued today, Counsel for the 2nd accused informed the Court that he does not wish to lead evidence-in-chief from Dr. Wasudewa and that the witness was accordingly released. The 9th accused also informed the Court that he does not wish to call the 6th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 17th, 21st and 22nd witnesses, and accordingly, those witnesses were released. The 4th accused informed the Court that he does not wish to call the 1st and 2nd witnesses, and those witnesses were also released. The Counsel for the 8th accused informed the Court that the 3rd witness on his witness list would not be called, and accordingly, the defence trial of the 8th accused was concluded.
The 1st witness, the Land Registrar of Kattankudy, from the 3rd accused’s witness list, gave evidence-in-chief and testified that 12.98 perches of land owned by Ahmadu Milhan had been sold to M.S.M. Mafas by a deed of sale dated 19th February 2019. The certified copy of the relevant deed of sale was marked as 3 D (2). During cross-examination, the Prosecution suggested to the witness whether, after selling the land to M.S.M. Mafas, Ahmadu Milhan had access to the land, whether something had been buried on that particular land, and whether he knew who had entered the land after it was sold. The witness testified that he was unaware of such matters. Thereafter, the 3rd accused informed the Court that the defence trial of the 3rd accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 3 D (1) and 3 D (2). The witness was not re-examined.
Thereafter, the 1st witness, Dr. Rahuman, JMO, from the 18th accused’s witness list, gave evidence-in-chief and testified that the 18th accused had been produced before him on 17th June 2021. The accused had mentioned that he had been detained by the TID from 21st April 2021 and that, before being taken there, he had been assaulted. The relevant Medico-Legal Report dated 17th May 2026 was marked as 18 D (4). The witness was not re-examined. Thereafter, Counsel for the 18th accused informed the Court that the defence trial of the 18th accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 18 D (1) to 18 D (4).
The 18th witness, Police Constable Naveen, from the 9th accused’s witness list, gave evidence-in-chief and testified that he had recorded a three-page statement from the 9th accused on 16th October 2023. He stated that, in that statement, the 9th accused had mentioned that he was not willing to give any further statement. The witness was cross-examined and was not re-examined. Thereafter, the 21st witness from the 9th accused’s witness list gave evidence and testified that Muslim people and the Islamic religion were endangered, humiliated and insulted by Sinhalese people and that no authority had taken any action against the culprits. During cross-examination, he was asked whether, merely because someone’s religion had been insulted, he could commit suicide bomb attacks and kill somebody in response. The witness strongly stated that if anybody had committed such acts, those persons should be punished accordingly. Thereafter, the 9th accused informed the Court that the defence trial of the 9th accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 9 D (1) to 9 D (2) (a).
The 2nd witness from the 13th accused’s witness list gave evidence-in-chief, and Counsel for the 13th accused marked documents as 13 D (1) and 13 D (2), and parts of the journal entries dated 20th October 2020, 22nd March 2021 and 27th July 2021 in the Magistrate’s Court, Colombo case brief were marked respectively as 13 D (3), 13 D (4) and 13 D (5) through the Interpreter. The witness was cross-examined by the 4th accused, and during cross-examination, the Prosecution marked the detention order dated 9th September 2020 as P 2077. Thereafter, the 13th accused informed the Court that the defence trial of the 13th accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 13 D (1) to 13 D (5).
The 2nd witness from the 11th accused’s witness list gave evidence-in-chief, during which the MLEF dated 30th April 2019 was marked as 11 D (4), and the MLR was marked as 11 D (5). The 11th accused marked the B Report dated 31st July 2019 as 11 D (6), and the B Report dated 7th August 2019 was marked as 11 D (7). Thereafter, the 11th accused informed the Court that the defence trial of the 11th accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 11 D (1) to 11 D (7).
The 1st witness from the 19th accused’s witness list thereafter gave evidence-in-chief and testified that the 19th accused was running a gold and silver workshop. The witness produced the relevant licence issued to the 19th accused, which was marked as 19 D (1), and identified the 8th and 18th accused. The Court also questioned the witness as to the monthly income earned by the 19th accused, in response to which the witness testified that the 19th accused earned no less than five hundred thousand rupees per month.
Thereafter, Counsel for the 12th accused marked several documents through the Interpreter as 12 D (16), 12 D (17) and 12 D (18). The 12th accused then informed the Court that the defence trial of the 12th accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 12 D (1) to 12 D (18). Counsel for the 4th accused thereafter marked several documents through the Interpreter as 4 D (3) to 4 D , following which the 4th accused informed the Court that the defence trial of the 4th accused was concluded with the dock statement and the documents marked as 4 D (1) to 4 D.
Accordingly, the defence trial was concluded and the matter was thereafter concluded. The Court ordered both parties to file their respective Written Submissions on or before 8th September 2026, and the Judgment will be delivered on 22nd September 2026.
The matter was fixed to be called again on 25th August 2026 at 2.00 p.m. for issuing certified copies.
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