The petition filed by Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, seeking an order declaring that his arrest and detention are unlawful, has been fixed for consideration on 16th May 2023.
The order was issued when the relevant petition was taken up for consideration before the three-member Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Priyantha Jayawardene, S. Thurairaja, and Kumuduni Wickremesinghe today (25).
In 2019, Dr. Sihabdeen was sent on compulsory leave after being accused of performing illegal sterilization operations at the Kurunegala Teaching hospital.
He was arrested over allegations of the alleged sterilization of women without their consent. Dr. Sihabdeen was also accused of having amassed wealth in an illegal manner and maintaining links with a terrorist organization.
In his petition, Dr. Shihabdeen pointed out that the police had failed to mention any substantial reason for his arrest.
He further requests the court to issue an order that his fundamental rights have been violated by arresting and detaining him based on false and baseless charges. (NewsWire)