Court sentences former IGP to death

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara was sentenced to death today (31) by a majority decision of a three-judge bench at the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar. The landmark ruling came after the court found him guilty of criminal negligence, dereliction of duty, and aiding and abetting deaths by failing to take preventive action despite receiving explicit advance intelligence warnings prior to the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

Delivering the verdict, the court convicted Jayasundara on 854 of the 855 charges filed against him. The three-judge bench reached a 2–1 majority decision, with one judge dissenting on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Jayasundara, who served as Sri Lanka’s 34th IGP from April 2016 until being placed on compulsory leave following the bombings, was one of the nation's top security officials at the time of the tragedy.

The legal proceedings leading to the judgment involved significant judicial turns. Both Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were initially acquitted by the Trial-at-Bar in February 2022 without being called to present a defence. However, following an appeal by the Attorney General, the Supreme Court ruled that the acquittal was contrary to law and ordered the trial to resume.

The Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, 2019, stand among the deadliest security failures in Sri Lankan history.

Coordinated suicide bombings targeted multiple churches and luxury hotels across the country, killing more than 260 people and injuring hundreds more. The widespread devastation triggered intense public outcry and exhaustive legal scrutiny into top-tier national security failures.

While Jayasundara has received a death sentence, legal proceedings against co-accused former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, who was indicted on similar charges for failing to prevent the attacks, remain ongoing before the court.