The Supreme Court has declared null and void the decision by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to release a man serving a 29-month prison sentence for failing to pay maintenance to his wife.
The Supreme Court has directed the Commissioner General of Prisons to take all necessary legal steps to enforce the original sentence imposed on Mohamed Ameen Mohamed Naseem by the Negombo Magistrate’s Court.
The ruling was delivered by Supreme Court Justice Janak de Silva, with the concurrence of Justices Sobitha Rajakaruna and Sampath Wijeratne, following the hearing of a fundamental rights petition filed by the man’s wife, Ahmed Fathima Begum.
According to the petition, Begum married Naseem on April 23, 2005, under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, and the couple had three children.
Following the termination of the marriage, the Quazi Court of Eastern Colombo ordered Naseem on June 11, 2022, to pay Rs. 60,000 in maintenance, the petition stated.
However, after he repeatedly failed to make the payments, the Negombo Magistrate’s Court ordered him to pay Rs. 1.74 million in arrears. He was subsequently convicted of failing to pay maintenance and sentenced to 29 months in prison.
Naseem was released on September 12, 2024, under a presidential pardon granted to mark Prisoners’ Day, in accordance with Article 34 of the Constitution. At the time of his release, he had served only about two months of his sentence, the judgment noted.
Begum challenged the decision, arguing that the pardon was arbitrary and unfair and violated the fundamental right to equality and equal protection of the law guaranteed by Article 12(1) of the Constitution. She also complained that she had not been given an opportunity to present her views before the pardon was granted.
In response, Naseem argued that the relief granted to him was not a pardon under Article 34(1)(a), but a reduction of his sentence under Article 34(1)(d).
The Supreme Court also considered the case of another prisoner, Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Nawshad, who had been imprisoned for a similar failure to pay maintenance. Unlike Naseem, Nawshad had not been released and had reportedly received only a reduction of approximately one week from his sentence.
The court observed that the differing treatment of the two prisoners demonstrated inequality in the process through which clemency had been granted.
The judges held that the actions of the former President, the former Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and the former Commissioner General of Prisons in facilitating Naseem’s release had violated the constitutional guarantee of equality and equal protection of the law under Article 12(1).
Consequently, the Supreme Court declared the clemency granted to Naseem legally invalid and ordered prison authorities to take the necessary steps, in accordance with the law, to enforce the original sentence imposed by the Negombo Magistrate’s Court.
