2026-02-19 / Debate (Continued): Judicature (Amendment) Bill and Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill - Committee and Third Reading 2026-02-19
## Summary
Hon. Mujibur Rahuman raised concerns about a February 10, 2026 Gazette notification requiring re-registration of SIM cards issued before August 2019, arguing it undermines ongoing investigations into high-profile murder cases including those of Lasantha Wickrematunge, Wasim Thajudeen, Prageeth Eknaligoda, Dharmeratnam Sivaram, and Poddala Jayantha—cases President Dissanayake had pledged to resolve. He contended that telecom operators are legally required under TRCSL licensing conditions to retain subscriber identity data, and that the Gazette effectively provides operators a legal shield to claim missing records in court, causing cases to collapse. The speaker questioned whether the Gazette was designed to protect specific individuals, pointing to the appointment of former Dialog CEO Hans Wijesuriya as the President's economic advisor and a former CCD officer implicated in the Thajudeen case as a Ministry advisor. He demanded that rather than issuing protective Gazettes, the Government should pursue legal action against operators withholding data and hold licence cancellation as a remedy, warning against allowing these cases to be buried indefinitely.
Hon. Deputy Chairperson, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Judicial Organization (Amendment) Bill and the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill.
What I say is related to law and justice. During the last presidential election period, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledged to investigate several murders—Lasantha Wickrematunge, Prageeth Eknaligoda, Wasim Thajudeen, Dharmeratnam Sivaram, and Poddala Jayantha—and to deliver justice.
On 2026 February 10, the President issued a Gazette on re-registration of customer information for SIM cards obtained before 02.08.2019, stating that some operators lack records of certain subscribers, creating difficulties for legal investigations. But when telecom operators receive licences from the TRCSL, a clear condition requires them to collect and retain subscriber identity details—hence we submit NIC, driving licence, or passport when obtaining SIMs. That has always been the case.
So why this Gazette now? In the Lasantha Wickrematunge case, progress stalled because data are “unavailable”—for example, SIMs used at the Tripoli camp. In the Thajudeen case, the night of the murder, dozens of calls were reportedly made from Temple Trees to the Narahenpita OIC, but data are “unavailable”. Who was the Dialog CEO then? Hans Wijesuriya—now the President’s economic advisor. Will we ever catch Thajudeen’s killers? The SP at the CCD who altered the “13 report” to call it an accident is now an advisor at the Ministry handling Police. With such people around the President, how will these cases move?
In the Eknaligoda and Sivaram cases too, call data are missing or not provided. The President promised to catch those responsible. Now, by asking pre-2019 SIM users to re-register, will criminals voluntarily come forward to register, making themselves easy to catch? Instead, this Gazette gives operators an escape: they can now say in court, “we don’t have the data,” and cases collapse. Under TRCSL licensing, operators must have this data. If they claim they do not, we should sue them and consider their licences, rather than shield them via Gazette.
Is the President knowingly doing this to protect Hans and the telecom companies, thereby stalling these cases? This is a serious matter. Even during the Yahapalana Government, Dialog was threatened with licence cancellation to obtain some data, but not all. I also remind the President that Sandhya Eknaligoda supported forming this Government; she is now forced to protest again. Do not bury these cases under the sands of time through gazettes that protect companies and shareholders.
Thank you.