(Lanka-e-News- 24.June.2015, 11.30PM) The Supreme court (SC) has already delivered a verdict that police officers over the age of 60 shall be sent on retirement compulsorily ,and giving extension to them is unlawful. The previous Rajapakse regime which was a byword for lawlessness however gave extensions to its shameless stooge Anura Senanayake on three occasions casting the laws of the country into the garbage bin. Sadly, the present government of good governance too has acted unlawfully by extending the service of senior DIG Gamini Navaratne for another one year.
Gamini Navaratne is a police officer who despite pressures brought to bear on him by the Rajapakse regime , carried out his duties with commitment to ensure a just and fair election as far as possible. If there are two upright public servants who worked to make the rainbow revolution a success , indisputably they are the elections commissioner Mahinda Desahapriya and Navaratne the police officer. Of course since Gamini Navaratne performed his duties duly , the government of good governance is obliged to show its gratitude to him. But can it therefore be justifiably said , the extension of his services in the same way as did the Rajapakse regime unheeding the SC decision, is not wrong.
The present IGP Ilangakoon is due for retirement next April. Hence with this extension granted to Navaratne , the latter has now got the opportunity to become the IGP before his own retirement. Of course nobody envies this , but does that mean vis a vis the clear SC decision, a flagrant unlawful act has not been committed thereby?
It is significant to note each time a police officer is given an extension in service this way wrongfully, a whole large group of officers of the lower ranks are being deprived of their promotions and they are placed invidiously , meaning that the verdict of the supreme court is not unjust.
Besides , if the government has the need to groom its pro government police officer to the post of IGP , and clean up the police force , it cannot be said , that action is wrong. However ,if that is the goal, then in order to minimize the disequilibrium resulting thereby , a fair model must be followed.
Simultaneously with the extension of Navaratne’s service , the two DIG’s , Waidyalankara and Ravi Seneviratne who are next among DIGs in seniority were also elevated as senior DIGs. Because of the service extension of Navaratne , the highest officer in rank next to him who is subjected to injustice is DIG S .A. D.S. Gunawardena . Since the latter is reaching 60 years of age next year , owing to the extension of service of Navaratne ,even if he continues until Navaratne’s retirement , Gunawardena will have to retire without promotion.
It is to be noted Gunawardena is not a stooge , and is an honest officer who performs his duties duly living up to the expectations of a government of good governance. It is he who had the spine to take into custody the arms and ammunitions of Gotabaya’s illicit armory . Surely , the government of good governance should consider as a matter of paramount importance that such officers are inspired and recognized.
Under the laws of the country , a senior DIG is appointed to each province. At the moment there is one province where there is a vacancy for a senior DIG. There were three vacancies at Uva, north central and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Recently , because of the two newly appointed senior DIGs and the filling of the vacancies of two provinces , one vacancy remains. The extension of service of Navaratne however does not militate against the promotion of Gunawardena to fill the vacancy . Moreover, if Gunwardena is elevated without holding him back in his position , the promotion of the other officers too becomes possible without stagnation.
If the responsible officials do not duly focus on this issue , may they be warned they will have to brace themselves for a fundamental rights (FR) case of Gunawardena against them for acting in violation of the SC order and Gunawardena’s FR.
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by (2015-06-24 22:29:54)
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Let Gonawardana too get an extension if UNP comes to power. Navaratne deserves right now.
-- by Ananda on 2015-06-24
