The petitioner, a 16 year student of St. Paul’s College, Kandy had been served a
pamphlet directing him to get the students of his school on the streets throughout the
week oh pain of death. The petitioner attended the school the following day and found
no students in his classroom but the students of the school were congregating in
various places and demonstrating and shouting slogans within the precincts of the school. He learnt the attendance Register was not being marked. So he left for
athletics training but found no training was possible. He decided to return to school but
finding the main gate closed he scaled the wall and iron gate and got into the school.
He was clad in his track suit and was not in his school uniform. He was a six-footer
and joined the slogan shouting students. He could have been mistaken for an outsider.
He was apprehended and taken to the Police Station. By way of admitted injuries he
had a slit lip and an injury on the cheek. He complained of Police assault, th e 1st
respondent’s (Police) version was that the petitioner led about 500 students on to the
road, began stopping vehicles and pasting posters on them, th e petitioner fell on the
road while attempting to stop a vehicle; then got up and addressed the students,
proposing that they go in procession along the road, th is was greeted with applause.
At this stage the 1st respondent arrested him informing him that he was, being arrested
for incitement under the Emergency Regulation. There was no medical evidence even
of a private Doctor about the injuries.
