Sriyani Silva vs. Iddamalgoda, Officer-in-Charge, Police Station Paiyagala and Others 2003 2 Sri LR 6 (Sri Lanka)

The petitioner is the widow of an army deserter against whom there was also a warrant for possession of illicit liquor and distilling equipment. The respondent Officer-in-Charge of Paiyagala Police Station arrested the deserter and took him to the police station where he was detained for about five days. The petitioner alleged that the deceased died as a consequence of torture by the police during the excessive period of detention. The family of the deceased complained and he was eventually produced before the magistrate and transferred to a prison where he died a few days later of “acute renal failure due to muscle cutaneous trauma.” The court found the petition's allegations to be credible and awarded compensation for violation of the deceased's fundamental rights. According to the court, the constitution recognizes a right not to be deprived of life - whether by way of punishment or otherwise - and, by necessary implication, a right to life. That right must be interpreted broadly, and the jurisdiction conferred by the constitution on the court for the sole purpose of protecting fundamental rights against executive action must be deemed to have conferred all that is reasonably necessary for the court to protect those rights effectively.