Vavuniya High Court Judge Manikkavasagam Ilanchelian acquitted three individuals, including the wife of an MP, who had been accused of setting fire to the residence and the body of former Member of Parliament Antony Emmanuel Silva in the Wanni District.
The incident took place around March 3, 2002 when the former MP’s house in Vavuniya was engulfed in flames, leading to his tragic death.
The police conducted a thorough investigation and subsequently arrested three individuals, including the MP’s wife. Legal proceedings against them unfolded over an extended period in both Vavuniya Magistrate’s Court and the High Court.
The charges against the former MP’s wife and the two other defendants were dismissed by the Vavuniya High Court due to insufficient evidence to establish that the fire in the former MP’s house was a deliberate act and that the MP’s wife was unquestionably present in the house at the time of the incident.
After being granted bail by the court several years ago, the ex-MP’s wife relocated to a foreign country with her children. As a result, the relevant case proceeded without the participation of the ex-MP’s wife, who was the primary defendant.