The Court of Appeal has issued a writ invalidating the summons issued by the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court to Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) Deshabandu Tennakoon.

The summons had requested his appearance as a suspect in the case related to the discovery of a large sum of money at the President’s House.

The President of the Court of Appeal, while delivering the verdict, stated that there was no evidence to suggest that the money found at the Presidential Palace belonged to the former President. The decision also indicated that there was no requirement to submit the money as evidence in court.

Consequently, the judge emphasized the impossibility of maintaining the private complaint and directed the petitioner to appear in court as a suspect. The writ issued by the Court of Appeal rendered the earlier summons issued by the magistrate null and void. The bench further instructed the Colombo Fort Magistrate to refrain from taking any further legal action against SDIG Tennakoon.

Furthermore, the Court of Appeal's ruling also addressed another case involving SDIG Tennakoon. The Attorney General had previously sent a letter naming Tennakoon as a suspect in connection with the May 9 attack on the Gotagogama last year. However, the Court of Appeal, in its ruling today (26), invalidated the said letter. The President of the Court of Appeal stated that sufficient evidence had not been uncovered to establish the petitioner's involvement in aiding and abetting the attack on the Galle Face struggle.