On 5 April 1971, the JVP insurgency began and Kataragama became a center of insurgent activity. The small Kataragama police station under Sub-Inspector Udawatta was attacked several times by the rebels and as a result the police left Kataragama. On April 11, 1971, Colonel Derrick Nugawela was appointed as the Military Liaison Officer in Hambantota District, began organizing military units in the district to fight the insurgents, and re-established the government controller of the district. On the orders of Colonel Nugawela, on April 16, the troops held by a volunteer officer, Lt. Alfred Wijesuriya, left for Kataragama and entered the town of Tissamaharama and established control. 

 

They entered Kataragama and camped at the Kataragama Pilgrims Rest House with limited opposition. As the police station was damaged in the attack, Inspector Udawatta and his police officers were ordered to go to the army base. Premavathy Manmperiya is the eldest daughter of Hendrick Appuhami, a ranger attached to the Kataragama Wildlife Department. She had ten siblings. She was a very beautiful woman who was crowned as the Princess of the Year in 1970 at the New Year festival held in Kataragama. She was twenty-two years old when she was killed. On April 16, Police Inspector Udawatta and three police constables arrived in a jeep and arrested Premavathy at her home. On the same day, several girls, including Premavathi, who were believed to be associated with the rebels, were arrested. They were then taken to the army camp. Oliver Silva, Wijeratne, D.D., a witness who served in Colonel Nugawela's volunteer battalion. According to the eyewitness testimony of Perera and the mutilated Aladdin, Premavathy was later interrogated by Wijesuriya on the morning of 17 April at the war camp and Oliver Silva felt that she was being asked about her support for rebel activities. Wijesuriya was then asked to remove her clothes and despite her protests and pleas she was forced to remove all her clothes. Colonel Wijesuriya ordered her to walk down the main road with her hands on her head, exposing her naked body while reciting the words "I have followed all the five sermons". The two accused were armed with Stirling machine guns and another soldier walked on either side. As she proceeded about 200 yards down the road, she turned towards the post office. Wijesuriya, the first accused, kicked her in the hip and shot her. The girl fell to the ground. 

 

She crawled some distance, got up again, walked and fell. The appellants later came to the camp. Then one of Wijesuriya's men mentioned that the girl was still alive. Wijesuriya then ordered the 2nd accused, Amaradasa Ratnayake, a member of the Volunteer Army, to go and shoot her. Later, he went to the place where the young woman fell and fired another shot at her. Aladdin claimed twice that the girl was still alive after being asked by army officials to bury the girl, after which an unidentified soldier shot her in the head with a rifle. She died immediately and buried herself and her clothes. After a trial before a High Court jury, these two defendants were convicted in 1973 of attempting to kill 22-year-old Premavathy Manmperiya on 17 April 1971 and sentenced to 16 years' hard labour. Then Advocate G.E. Mr. Chetty and E.R.S.R. A group of advocates including Mr. Kumaraswamy presented an appeal to the Hon'ble Supreme Court on behalf of the convicts. The following points have been taken into consideration. A state of emergency was declared on 16 March 1971 under the provisions of the Public Security Ordinance and emergency regulations were promulgated to preserve public order and suppress riots and civil disturbances. On 7 March 1971, the members of the Armed Forces were called up by the Prime Minister under Section 12 (1) of the Public Security Ordinance. The main contention of the advocate appearing for the 1st appellant was that the shooting of Premavathy was a justifiable act on 17th April 1971 in Kataragama during the actual war period. (But according to the evidence given in the case, it was revealed that there was no actual war or riot in Kataragama on that day.) And on certain evidence leading to this case, the 1st appellant shot the young woman on orders from his superior, Colonel Nugawela, to destroy the prisoners. . But this has been denied by Colonel Nugawela. It was the argument of the advocate who appeared for him that the 2nd appellant shot the dead girl on the orders of his superior officer the 1st appellant.

Accordingly, she has a defense for the appellants in terms of Section 69 of the Penal Code. Section 69 of the Penal Code states that "Nothing is an offense which is done by a person who is, or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good faith believes himself to be, bound by law to do it. ” But the Hon'ble Supreme Court pointed out that under Section 100 of the Military Act, a person subject to military law must obey only lawful orders given by his superiors and does not apply to an order which is clearly illegal. It was further held that whether there was a period of hostilities or an actual war on April 17, 1971, there was no justification for shooting a prisoner in custody. In a state of affairs at that day, a soldier subject to military law continued to be the custodian of civil law, and it was his duty to take charge of police duties while on duty and subject to civil law as an ordinary police officer. and that the accused appellants are not entitled to plead the defense of Section 69 of the Penal Code or to rely on any provision of the Public Safety Act or the Emergency Regulations thereunder or the Army Act. And Section 77 of the Military Act states that nothing in the Military Act shall affect the jurisdiction of a civil court to punish any person subject to military law for a civil offence. Taking into consideration the above facts and evidence, this appeal which was heard before a three-judge bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court was unanimously disallowed and the High Court's order of 16 years imprisonment was accepted and reinstated. There is no loophole in the law to kill a military officer just because he was carrying a weapon, except in a war situation. Prisoners are human too.