News
Death sentence on assassin of T. Maheswaran upheld by Supreme Court
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence imposed on an LTTE member convicted over the assassination of United National Party (UNP) Jaffna District Parliamentarian T. Maheswaran.
The Court of Appeal had earlier upheld the sentence and rejected an appeal filed by the accused, Johnson Colin Valentino alias ‘Vasanthan’ against the death sentence imposed on him by the Colombo High Court over the assassination.
The accused had then filed a special leave to proceed in the Supreme Court requesting it to vacate the Court of Appeal’s order.
When the petition was taken up before a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda, Achala Wengappuli and Menaka Wijesundara, Shavindra Fernando, PC, who appeared for the petitioner, requested to be allowed to withdraw the petition due to two facts he could neither substantiate nor disprove being presented during the case.
Mr. Maheswaran was shot dead inside the Ponnambalavaneswarar Sivan temple in Kotahena while attending religious observances on January 1, 2008. The accused was also injured following a shootout with Mr. Maheswaran’s bodyguards. Both Mr. Maheswaran and the accused were rushed to the Colombo National Hospital, at which point the former identified the accused as the person who shot him. Mr. Fernando also noted that DNA evidence from the accused’s blood linked him to the crime. These were facts that could not be disproven, he acknowledged, requesting permission from the court to withdraw the petition.
The Supreme Court granted the request made by the petitioner.
Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, PC, appeared for the Attorney General.
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