The Supreme Court determination on the petitions filed challenging the Protection of the State from Terrorism (PSTA) Bill has been received by the Speaker of House Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, the Speaker’s Office confirmed today (10).
The Supreme Court commenced hearing into a series of petitions filed challenging the proposed Organized Crime Prevention Bill on November 04, 2026.
The petitions were taken up before a three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Sampath Abeykoon.
A total of 26 petitions were filed challenging the proposed legislation.
The petitioners claimed that certain provisions of the Bill violate fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
The petitions were filed by several parties, including the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL).
The Supreme Court resumed hearing the petitions for the second day, on the grounds that they are inconsistent with the Constitution, yesterday (09).
Accordingly, the Attorney General informed the Supreme Court yesterday that the government had proposed several amendments to the Bill.
Among the key amendments, the Attorney General informed the Court that the provision permitting a person to be detained for up to 72 hours would be amended to reduce the maximum detention period to 48 hours.
The Attorney General further indicated that provisions relating to tattoos and body marks, which had been included in the proposed legislation, would be removed through amendments.
In addition, the government has proposed removing all offences under the Excise Ordinance included in the Bill, as well as offences relating to copyright under intellectual property violations.
Another significant proposed amendment concerns a clause requiring prior court approval before information relating to cases involving serious crimes could be published. The Attorney General informed the Supreme Court that this provision would also be withdrawn.
Court was also informed that amendments concerning the detention of arrested persons and the issuance of detention orders would be considered at a later stage.
At the conclusion of the hearing yesterday, the Supreme Court announced that its confidential determination on the constitutionality of the Bill would be communicated to the Speaker of Parliament House and the President.