News
Highest amount of compensation ever paid in FR case: Those affected by Easter Sunday carnage receive Rs. 310 million
Ex. Prez Sirisena highest contributor
Over 310 mn had been paid to five categories of the 2019 Easter Sunday victims according to a detailed report submitted by the Office of Reparations to the Supreme Court (SC) when the relevant Fundamental Rights cases were mentioned before Chief Justice Murdu Fernando, PC, Justice S. Thurairajah PC, and Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz recently.
His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, the 57th Respondent in the SC FR 195/2019, was represented by Shammil J. Perera, PC, and Duthika Perera at these proceedings on the instructions of Gamini Senanayake.
During the proceedings, the Office for Reparations presented a detailed report to all parties setting out the details of payments made to the victims through the Fund which received altogether Rs. 311 mn as compensation paid by the respondents in these Fundamental Rights cases.
Former President Maithripala Sirisena paid the highest compensation amounting to Rs 100 mn to the Fund.
The SC on January 12, 2023 declared that former President Sirisena, former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, former IGP Pujith Jayasundara, former National Intelligence Chief Senior DIG (retired) Sisira Mendis and former Chief of State Intelligence Service SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena had violated the fundamental rights of the people by failing to take action to prevent the Easter Sunday bombings in spite of having prior information of the impending attack.
The SC ordered Sirisena to pay Rs. 100 million in compensation to the petitioners, while Pujith Jayasundara and Nilantha Jayawardena were each ordered to pay Rs. 75 million; Hemasiri Fernando was ordered to pay Rs. 50 million and Sisira Mendis was ordered to pay Rs. 10 million from their personal funds. That order was delivered by a seven-member Supreme Court Judge bench with regard to 12 petitions filed by various parties stating that their fundamental rights had been violated by negligence and failure to prevent the coordinated terrorist attacks on 21 April, 2019.
Legal sources said that Rs 310 mn was the highest amount of compensation ever paid in a Fundamental Rights case here.
Accordingly, the Easter Attack 2019 Victim Fund made the relevant payments to the following categories of victims (1) Next of kin of deceased (2) Medical support for injured victims (3) Secondary School education support of students (4) Tertiary education support of students and Support for elders.
The SC was told by May 20, 2025 a total amount of Rs. 310,418,586.20/- had been disbursed to all the victims (99.78% of total funds collected). According to the Office of reparations, altogether 661 beneficiaries had been paid by the Fund.
Subsequent to deducting all bank charges, Rs. 581,413.80/- remained in the Fund, the SC was told.
On behalf of His Eminence the Archbishop of Colombo, Shammil J. Perera extend the sincere appreciation and the deep sense of gratitude of the Church towards their Lordships of the Supreme Court in delivering a landmark judgment and thereafter taking the requisite steps to ensure that these funds had been properly disbursed to all of the victims of these attacks. The counsel for the Cardinal also extended the Church’s profound sense of appreciation to the Attorney General’s Department and the Office for Reparation in aiding in the exercise of distributing these payments to the deserving victims. Thereby the proceedings of these Fundamental Rights cases were terminated, sources said. (SF)
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 01 Jan 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended 11 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, off Kovilan of Kareinagar, Jaffna.
The Northern Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. In response, naval craft of the Northern Naval Command were deployed to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters off Kovilan.
Meanwhile, compliant boarding made by naval personnel resulted in the seizure of one Indian fishing boat and apprehension of 11 Indian fishermen who continued to engage in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
The seized boat (01) and Indian fishermen (11) were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Myliddy, Jaffna for onward legal proceedings.
Latest News
Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund
Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.
The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.
According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.
Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.
The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.
In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.
The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.
The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.
Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.
By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️
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