4 lakhs fine for Mervin Silva who removed walls

Many people were witness through Rupavahini of a scene where former Minister Mervin Silva mediated directly in activities of widening roads in Kiribathgoda area 6 years before this in 2010.

During the said era certain accomplices of the Minister had
approached the house concerned and employed Bacho machines and rooted out the walls and the house by sheer force at once without any form of documents in their possession. This activity had to be borne patiently by the public without taking any legal action against Minister Mervin for this wrongdoing as they were prevented doing so from higher authorities. However, several years later this situation had taken a right about turn against the Human Rights violation of Minister Mervin for having broken down the wall of a house and a toilet-bathroom unit in which instance he was ordered to pay compensation. This incident was reported from judicial quarters yesterday.   

In spite of protests, the walls of of the house belonging to Mr. Asitha Nanayakkara Liyanage, a resident of Kiribathgoda Iriyawetiya was removed on 18th September 2010 with the aid of Bacho machines of Kelaniya Provincial Council and Mervin Silva had been present at the said location and was instrumental in carrying out this task, it was stated in the petition lodged against the former Minister. what the petitioner says is that this was done by the Minister explaining that it was so done for the sake of widening the road, it nevertheless was a case of personal revenge.

The petition says that because some supporters of the Minister had been maintaining a three-wheeler yard close to his residence he had filed action against it and just half-an-hour after this news circulated, Minister Mervin had given a threatening call and afterwards had proceeded to do this damage. The Supreme Court who concluded that the former  Minister Mr. Mervin Silva had violated the petitioner's Human Rights by removing the wall of a house of a resident in the area forcibly thus ordered the former Minister to pay the petitioner a sum of Rs. 4 lakhs as compensation. As the Officer-in-Charge of Kiribathgoda Police at that time (2010) Mr. Chaminda Edirisuriya too had committed an offence by by not taking an action in this connection, he too was ordered to pay Rs. 50,000 in cash as a fine from his personal funds. This verdict was pronounced by a three-member Supreme Court Bench comprising of Eva Wanasundera, Anil Gooneratna and K.T. Chandrasiri.