The Supreme Court today (06) upheld the death sentences imposed on four accused, including Swiss Kumar, in connection with the abduction, gang rape, and murder of schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya in Jaffna in 2015.
The verdict was delivered by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, which dismissed the appeals filed by the accused seeking acquittal from the death sentences previously imposed by the High Court trial-at-bar.
However, the Court also ordered that the convictions and sentences of two other accused in the same case be set aside. At the time the judgment was delivered, three of the convicts who had been sentenced to death were produced before court via video conferencing technology.
The incident dates back to May 13, 2015, when the 18-year-old schoolgirl from Pungudutivu in Jaffna was abducted while returning home from school. She was subsequently subjected to brutal sexual assault and murdered, in a case that shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation.
Following investigations, the Attorney General filed charges against several suspects before a High Court trial-at-bar in Jaffna. In 2017, the court found seven accused guilty and sentenced them to death.
The convicted individuals later filed appeals before the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the verdict. During the course of the appeal proceedings, one of the accused had died.
With today’s ruling, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the sentences for four of the accused, bringing a significant legal conclusion to one of Sri Lanka’s most high-profile criminal cases.
