Consideration of petition challenging promotion of Sri Lanka’s first female DIG postponed
November 15, 2022 06:11 pm
The Fundamental Rights (FR) petition which was filed requesting the annulment of the promotion given to Bimshani Jasin Arachchi as the first Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in the history of Sri Lanka has been fixed for consideration on May 18, 2023, by Supreme Court.
The petition was taken up before the three-member Supreme Court judge bench consisting of Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Shiran Gunaratne and Kumudini Wickremasinghe.
The Attorney who appeared on behalf of the petitioners requested for the consideration of the petition to be postponed to another date due to personal reasons.
The Supreme Court, which accepted the request, ordered the case be taken up for consideration on May 18, 2023.
The petition was filed by 32 Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP), including former Police Spokesman SSP Ruwan Gunasekera, seeking a ruling that the promotion was made in violation of the standard promotion procedure.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), the National Police Commission, the Attorney General and Bimshani Jasin Arachchi, who had been appointed as a DIG, have been named as respondents in the petition.
The petitioners have alleged that, no women police officers can be promoted to the post of DIG since the regulations related to promotions of the post of DIG do not mention the word "Women".
Accordingly, the petitioners have requested in the petition that the relevant promotion to Bimshani Jasin Arachchi, which they claimed has been granted in violation of the standard promotion procedures, be declared illegal and to invalidate it.
