The Supreme Court has directed the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar to recall the defence in the case against former Defence Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Pujith Jayasundara.

This decision follows an appeal by the Attorney General challenging their acquittal on charges of criminal dereliction of duty and murder for allegedly failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks despite prior intelligence.

A five-member bench, led by Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, determined that the High Court should have called for defence testimonies, contesting the initial verdict to acquit the accused without hearing their defence.

Jayasundara and Fernando were aquitted of all charges in the Easter Sunday Attacks case on 18 February 2022.

The cases were heard before Justices Namal Balalle, Aditya Patabendige, and Mohamed Irshadeen. The Attorney General had filed charges of criminal dereliction of duty against the two officials, accusing them of failing to act on specific intelligence to prevent the attacks.

Jayasundara and Fernando each faced 855 counts of criminal negligence. However, the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar ordered their acquittal and release without requiring defence evidence, as the prosecution could not substantiate the charges.