News
Delay in high-profile cases: AG to meet President
View(s):- Department decides not to file indictments until police fully complete probes
By Ranjith Padmasiri
The AG’s Department has taken the decision considering the difficulties it is facing in the backdrop of accusations for the lack of prosecutions, especially on high-profile complaints. The decision has been taken after AG’s Department officials reported the main reason for delays in filing legal action in connection with a majority of serious criminal cases was that police investigations had not been fully completed.
Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe is to meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake tomorrow to brief him on the decision, the Sunday Times learns.
Speaking during the event held to mark International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, the President publicly questioned delays on the part of the AG’s Department in filing cases.
“It is implausible that the Attorney General’s Department has kept a file locked away for seven years. Similarly, it is unacceptable that certain files remain untouched from the day they were filed until they were deteriorated,”the President said.
It is learnt that difficulties faced by the AG’s Department in filing legal action over many high-profile criminal cases are to be discussed at the meeting.
The delay on the part of the police in completing investigations into cases has been raised repeatedly over the years. In October last year, the Public Security Ministry directed the Acting Inspector General of Police to expedite investigations into seven cases, including the 2015 Treasury Bond auction and the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
Meanwhile, the AG has also instructed police not to provide “facts” to his department to file cases without completing the investigation into the matter.
In line with the decision, police will be required to submit documents certifying that an investigation has been completed, along with relevant extracts and specialist reports. Incomplete reports will be sent back to Police Headquarters.
AG’s Department sources said they have noticed that in many cases, police investigators were forwarding incomplete findings to them to file court cases to escape criticism that investigations were “going slow”. This has resulted in the department having to issue instructions to the investigators on how to rectify their errors. However, it has been observed that even these instructions were not being properly followed, these sources claimed.
The AG’s officials are also unhappy over the practice carried out by police, where they inform courts that they were yet to receive AG’s Department advice or sanctions in particular cases after sending a letter. In some cases, police have sent investigation reports to the AG without even obtaining a statement from the main suspect, the AG’s Department sources said.
When contacted, Police Spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) K.B. Manathunga said he was unaware of the AG Department’s decision but would look into the matter and provide a response.
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