Court begins contempt hearing involving Wimal Weerawansa and others

The Court of Appeal began hearing a contempt allegation involving former ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, MP Dilith Jayaweera and others on November 11.

The matter was taken up before a bench comprising Rohantha Abeysuriya, Chamath Morais and Adithya Patabendige. Counsel appearing for Gammanpila began presenting submissions.

The proceedings concern remarks about the arrest and detention of former State Intelligence Service head Suresh Sallay. The allegations have entered a hearing; this report does not announce a new conviction.

Update: November 12, 2026

Defence lawyers have argued that criticism of police investigations should not automatically be treated as contempt of court because policing is an executive function rather than the exercise of judicial authority. They made the submissions during the November 11 hearing concerning public remarks about investigations involving Suresh Sallay.

Counsel also challenged whether a sentence taken from a television interview established an intention to commit contempt, arguing that the wider context mattered. These were submissions by the respondents' lawyers; this report does not state that the court accepted them or found misconduct by investigators.

Counsel for another respondent informed the court that a cited Facebook post had been deleted and an unconditional apology issued. Further consideration was scheduled for November 12. The proceedings remain unresolved, and no new conviction is announced here.