Colombo Chief Magistrate Tanuja Lakmali today granted permission to the Internet Security and Intelligence Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to obtain information from six social media accounts that have been spreading false and defamatory news about the Court of Appeal and Appeal Court Judge Balendran Shashi Mahendran.
The CID’s Intelligence Unit had requested permission to submit nine questions to the social media networks and obtain relevant answers as part of an ongoing investigation into a complaint filed by Judge Mahendran.
The Judge’s complaint states that these social media accounts had published false information about him and the Court of Appeal, including a claim that he had acquitted a defendant in a high-profile murder case. The accounts had also used his official photograph in uniform.
During the hearing, the CID informed the court that the Judge had never presided over the case in question and that the Court of Appeal Registrar had informed the CID in writing. The CID also stated that the false news had tarnished the image of the entire judicial system and attempted to erode public trust in the judiciary.
The CID is conducting an investigation into the matter under the powers granted by Section 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 15 of 1979.
