The Fundamental Rights (FR) petition filed by Pastor Jerome Fernando, requesting the court to issue an order preventing his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is set to be heard before the Court of Appeal on 04 October.
The relevant order was given when the matter was heard before Appellate Court President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Chamath Morais today (22 Sep.).
On 26 May, the self-styled prophet filed an FR petition before the Supreme Court, through his attorneys, seeking an order preventing his arrest.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the DIG in charge of the CID, the CID director and the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the cybercrimes unit of the CID had been named as the respondents of the FR petition.
In his petition, the Pastor deemed the CID’s attempts to arrest him unlawful, claiming that the police have not presented any piece of evidence to the court to prove that his comments threaten the religious harmony in the country.
