By The Pulseline News Desk
Gampaha Magistrate Bandula Gunaratne, who recently sought contempt of court proceedings against the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over alleged non-compliance with a court order, has been transferred to the Judges’ Training Institute with immediate effect, while Kosala Senadheera has been appointed as his successor.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has appointed Senadheera as the new Chief Magistrate of Gampaha, with his appointment scheduled to take effect on Monday (9).
The transfer of Magistrate Gunaratne was communicated through a letter issued by JSC Secretary Prasanna Alwis. No official reason has been disclosed for the decision.
The transfer follows a request made by Gunaratne to the President of the Court of Appeal to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the IGP, alleging that the police chief had failed to comply with a judicial order.
The order required the IGP to issue a circular to all police officers instructing them not to institute baseless legal proceedings against innocent members of the public.
The directive arose from a case involving a resident of Makandana, against whom the Gampaha Police Anti-Corruption Unit had filed two separate cases involving identical drug possession charges.
After examining the matter, the Magistrate had found the charges to be baseless and had ordered three police officers and the Police Department to pay Rs. 200,000 in compensation to the affected individual.
He had also directed the IGP to issue a nationwide circular instructing police officers not to institute frivolous cases against innocent citizens.
However, the police have subsequently submitted guidelines issued by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province North, covering only the Gampaha, Kelaniya and Negombo police divisions.
The Magistrate had expressed concern that the guidelines did not comply with the nationwide directive and subsequently directed the court registrar to forward the relevant case files to the President of the Court of Appeal for consideration of contempt proceedings against the IGP.
In a separate development, the IGP had lodged a complaint against Magistrate Gunaratne with the JSC over his conduct in the matter.
The Commission had subsequently requested the Magistrate to submit his observations regarding the complaint.
According to reports, Gunaratne had submitted his observations before the transfer was announced. The transfer letter was issued shortly afterwards by JSC Secretary Alwis.
The timing of the transfer has drawn attention given the ongoing dispute between the Magistrate and the police chief. However, the JSC has not publicly disclosed whether the transfer is connected to the complaint or the contempt proceedings.
Meanwhile, Senadheera is expected to assume duties as the new Chief Magistrate of Gampaha on November 9.
The development comes amid wider concerns over the filing of baseless criminal cases against members of the public and the enforcement of judicial directives by law enforcement authorities.
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