Had it been me, I wouldn’t have taken chances - Ex-Chief Justice

Referring to the attack on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Secretary Manjula Thilakaratna, former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva told our sister paper Silumina that it was not prudent on the part of the Secretary to read newspapers having parked his car on a road when a week ago or so he had said that there was a threat on his life.

”When I travelled I was cautious to see who followed me. On our part, we have to be careful, however, much we are bold. Had I also read newspapers on the road I too would have been attacked. I too had a bodyguard. Security has to be provided when necessary. Somebody who had observed this gentleman reading newspapers would have planned the attack.

I could see an element of carelessness too, he said. A tragedy followed after this incident when judges struck work for two days. They have since taken a decision not to resort to strike action and it is a wise move he said. He stressed that the police should couduct a thorough investigation and bring the culprits to book.