Enjoining order lifted on ‘Usaviya Nihandai’

By T. Farook Thajudeen

Colombo District Judge M. U. Gunwardena yesterday lifted the enjoining order enforced against the screening of Prasanna Vithanage’s documentary film ‘Usaviya Nihadai’(Silence in the Courts). 

It was observed that junior lawyer E. S. Minoly De Zoysa who assisted the Senior Counsel D. M. P. Dissanayake on behalf of the plaintiff during the inquiry had attested to the affidavit of the plaintiff by contradicting the Act on oaths and affirmations. 

The seven defendants, namely Director of the film Prasanna Vithanage, producer H. D. Premasiri Cinema Entertainments (Pvt),the Manager of Regal Cinema, Movie Works Pvt Limited, MT Light Cinema and the National Film Corporation challenged that the plaintiff had violated the Oaths and Affirmations Act. Their Counsel for the defendants asserted that the Act had stated that a Commissioner of oaths shall not exercise the powers given by the section in any proceedings or matter in which he is attorney- at- law for any of the parties or in which he is otherwise interested, and therefore the affidavit was bad in law and to dismiss the enjoining order.

District Judge Gunawardena, while lifting the enjoining order, fixed for January 19 for the plaintiff to file counter objections. The petitioner, a former magistrate claims that the film, based on an incident in June 1996 where a sitting magistrate had allegedly sexually assaulted a woman was scheduled to be screened at theatres starting 6 October, would defame him and the country’s judicial system. He requested the court to issue an enjoining order against screening of the film. The District Judge also fixed for 19 January  for the plaintiff to file counter objections. 

However, when the case was taken up on Wednesday the court postponed the pronouncement of a decision till Thursday. President Counsel Kanag lswaran,Chandaka Jayasundara, Shivan Kanageswaran, Avendra Rodrigo, B. lllangathilaka and several other Senior Counsels instructed by Mohan Balendran, F. J. N. De Seram, etc., appeared for the seven defendants. The fifth defendant was not represented during the trial. DSG Sunmathi Dharmawardanan appeared for the State Film Cooperation.