The Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming the rights of minors in police custody, ordering that parents must be allowed to see their child within six hours of arrest.
The decision was delivered in response to a fundamental rights petition filed by 16-year-old Kamaladeen Ilham Ahmad and his father, residents of Hataraliyadda, Kalutara.
The Court further directed the Inspector General of Police to instruct all officers that a minor must be shown to their parents before being presented to a Magistrate.
The petition was filed after the minor was arrested in connection with a gold theft, later acquitted and released by the Magistrate’s Court.
The petition challenged the legality of the arrest and the treatment of the child while in custody.
In a decisive move, the Supreme Court ruled that the arrest was unlawful, and held the acting Officer-in-Charge of the Hataraliyadda Police Station at the time personally accountable. The officer was ordered to pay Rs. 300,000 in compensation to the child from his personal funds.
Additionally, the Court ordered Rs. 75,000 to be paid to the child’s father as compensation.
The case was heard before a bench comprising Justices Janak de Silva, Menaka Wijesundara, and Sampath Abeykoon.
The judgment noted that the child had been subjected to physical assault and cruel treatment while in custody.
It also confirmed that the child was released after being presented to the Magistrate.
The Supreme Court concluded that the arrest and subsequent assault constituted a clear breach of the child’s constitutional right.
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