Sarath Ambepitiya
Encyclopedia
Sarath Ambepitiya was a Sri Lanka
n judge. He was serving as the Judge of the Colombo High Court when he was assassinated. The assassination, committed by orchestrated by a drug lord sentenced by the Judge griped the nation and forced the government to crack down on organized crime.
, Ambepitiya entered the Sri Lanka Law College
to study law and called the bar as an attorney at law
.
in many parts of the island. Later he was appointed Chief Magistrate
of Colombo and then Additional District Judge
of Colombo. Ambepitiya's first appointment as a High Court Judge was in Galle
, after which he was appointed as a High Court Judge in Colombo. He was a noted for his fearlessness in making strong judgments and taking up cases that other judges feared to accept. Ambepitiya presided over many impotent criminal cases including the Central Bank bombing
.
. The Chief Justice described Ambepitiya as "the most fearless judicial officer we had. His death is a great loss to the judiciary".
.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n judge. He was serving as the Judge of the Colombo High Court when he was assassinated. The assassination, committed by orchestrated by a drug lord sentenced by the Judge griped the nation and forced the government to crack down on organized crime.
Education
Educated at the prestigious Royal College ColomboRoyal College Colombo
The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...
, Ambepitiya entered the Sri Lanka Law College
Sri Lanka Law College
Sri Lanka Law College was established as the Ceylon Law College under the Council of Legal Education in 1874 in order to impart a formal legal education to those who wished to be lawyers in Ceylon...
to study law and called the bar as an attorney at law
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
.
Career
After practicing law for some time, he joined the judiciary in 1977 and served as a MagistrateMagistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in many parts of the island. Later he was appointed Chief Magistrate
Chief Magistrate
Chief Magistrate is a generic designation for a public official whose office—individual or collegial—is the highest in his or her class, in either of the fundamental meanings of Magistrate : as a major political and administrative office , and/or as a judge Chief Magistrate is a generic designation...
of Colombo and then Additional District Judge
District Judge
District Judge may refer to*A member of the Judiciary of England and Wales*A United States federal judgeNormally concerned with the civil law. I.e. Families, bankruptcy, property etc....
of Colombo. Ambepitiya's first appointment as a High Court Judge was in Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
, after which he was appointed as a High Court Judge in Colombo. He was a noted for his fearlessness in making strong judgments and taking up cases that other judges feared to accept. Ambepitiya presided over many impotent criminal cases including the Central Bank bombing
Central Bank Bombing
The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks carried out by the LTTE during the Separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers.The attack took place on January 31, 1996, Sri Lankan city of Colombo...
.
Murder
He was shot dead by assassins at his home along with his bodyguard, Police Inspector Upali Bandara, on November 20, 2004. At the time of his death he was one of the most senior Judges of the High Court and was expected to be promoted to the Court of Appeal. Only the day before he had 58th birthday with a visit to the Kelaniya templeKelaniya Raja Maha Vihara
The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara or Kelaniya Temple is a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, seven miles from Colombo. The Chief Incumbent is Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thera....
. The Chief Justice described Ambepitiya as "the most fearless judicial officer we had. His death is a great loss to the judiciary".
Culprits
Five men were indicted over the murder of Ambepitiya. This included the alleged mastermind, Mohammed Niyas Naufer alias Potta Naufer on charges of conspiracy to commit murder; and Sujith Rohana Rupasinghe, Suminda Nishantha, Udara Perera and Lasantha Kumara, who were alleged to have carried out the murder. On July 4, 2005, amid high security and following a three month trial, a High Court Trial-at-Bar reached a unanimous verdict finding the five men guilty of murdering Ambepitiya and his bodyguard. All five were sentenced to death by hangingCapital punishment in Sri Lanka
Capital punishment is legal in Sri Lanka. However, since June 23, 1976, there have been no executions, although death sentences were handed down continuously by the High and Supreme Courts for murder and drug trafficking convictions. These were automatically commuted to life in prison...
.