The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law - Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs
Pointing to Penal Code Section 74 and Article 11 of the Constitution, Sunil Watagala argued that existing law already protects good-faith acts done to prevent harm while prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. He therefore opposed Ajith P. Perera’s proposed insertion of the term “bona fide” in the Bill, stating that further specification of bona fide or mala fide intent was unnecessary.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Sir, I rise to a Point of Order. The Hon. Ajith P. Perera suggested inserting the term “bona fide.” There is no need. Penal Code Section 74 already provides that an act done in good faith for the purpose of preventing or avoiding harm is not an offence merely because it causes harm. Also, Article 11 of the Constitution prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Therefore, specifying bona fide or mala fide again in this Bill is unnecessary; the framework already covers it.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 24 September 2025 ·No. 1759815459006615 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law - Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 24 September 2025. No. 1759815459006615. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/20839