The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday (17) ordered that a fundamental rights (FR) petition filed requesting that an order be issued to recover the compensation money that had been paid to former ministers and Parliamentarians by the Government after their houses and properties were damaged by arson, be taken up for clarification of facts on 13 November.
The property damage occurred as a result of the violent incidents that spread across the country following the attack on the ‘Gota Go Gama’ protest site at Galle Face on 9 May 2022.
The FR petition was filed by activist and attorney Dr. Ravindranath Dabare.
The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Justices Mahinda Samayawardhena and Sobhitha Rajakaruna.
A total of 15 individuals, including the former President and Minister of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd.), former Chief of Defence Staff, General Shavendra Silva (Retd.), the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne, former Ministers of Public Security Tiran Alles and Prasanna Ranatunga, the Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya, the current Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala, and the Attorney General, among others have been named as respondents in the petition.
The petitioner stated that following the attack on the said protest site on 9 May 2022, violent incidents erupted across the country, resulting in the destruction of homes and property. He further claimed that, as disclosed in the Parliament on 5 February of this year (2025) by Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, the previous Government had paid compensation amounting to Rs. 1.22 billion to 43 individuals, including former ministers and MPs, for property damage. The petitioner alleged that this constituted a gross misuse of public funds. He pointed out that even in the event of a natural disaster, the maximum compensation payable to an individual for property damage is Rs. 2.5 million. He claimed that these payments were made outside the proper legal framework and has requested the SC to declare that his fundamental human rights have been violated. Accordingly, the petitioner further seeks a Court order to recover the compensation funds that were paid, and to conduct a proper valuation of the damaged properties belonging to the said ex-ministers and MPs and to make payments lawfully in accordance with the established legal procedures.