Judge reprimands CID : cannot punish on an imagined offence- journalists released -Pass the information to LeN is the offence
(Lanka-e-News-30.June.2012, 11.30PM) The journalists of the website who were arrested by the CID yesterday (29) were produced before the acting Magistrate Kosala Senadheera, Colombo court no 8 today. The main charge against those arrested was , the office that was running the websites , Sri Lanka mirror and Lanka x news were transmitting news to the Lanka e news website, and those news could create room to defame the President and incite the people. These charges were filed under section , 115, 118 and 120. When the Magistrate inquired from the CID whether such wrongs have been committed , the CID said , there was room to commit such offences.

The Magistrate had pointed out , actually committing and may commit are two different things , and punishment cannot be committed for a wrong that may be committed. He had also reprimanded the CID , and ordered the police to release the journalists arrested on suitable police bail .

The police was also ordered to produce the computers taken into custody at the next court date on 6th July.
Attorneys at law including Saliya Peiris, Upul and Manjula Pathiraja appeared for the journalists, while Mangala Samaraweera M P and Daya Gamage, media organization leaders were also present in court.

Lanka e news revealed that the journalists were in the ready yesterday to explain to the CID in court , that it is the constitution and not the penal code which is fundamental. 

Meanwhile Lanka e news is in receipt of information that the CID has manipulated this operation to trap Ruwan Ferdinands .This was confirmed , when the CID chief had remarked after the arrested journalists were brought to the CID , ‘it is useless bringing the fowls without the fox’.

The main question that was posed to the arrested journalists by the CID was, whether they are conveying information to Lanka e news.