History of the District Court Kesbewa

The History of the District Court Kesbewa

Early Beginnings: By the 1970s, this court, which had served as the village council hall, was established as a District Court in the 1980s. The first Magistrate was Honourable Deepali Wijesundara (served from 1984.05.02 to 1988.01.31). The Court began with a small staff, and five lawyers appeared before it.

Initial Operations: The cases assigned by the Piliyandala and Kahatuduwa Police Stations were handled, and Court Proceedings were conducted in a small building. On 31 January 2000, proceedings moved to a two-storey building where the Magistrate Court continued to operate.

Kesbewa Court Room

Civil Jurisdiction & Expansion

  • District Court System: Thus, the Kesbewa Magistrate’s Court became part of the district court system, and Civil jurisdiction was incorporated (According to Extraordinary Gazette No. 1679/40 dated 10 November 2010) in the Year 2011.

Modern Infrastructure

  • Separate Court Buildings: Subsequently, after the construction of the District Court building in 2018, from June 2021 Civil and Criminal cases have been heard separately and operated independently.
  • Judicial Service: So far 24 judges have served on these two courts.

Present Judges

  • District Judge / Magistrate: Presently Honourable A.D. Chathurika Silva is serving as the District Judge / Magistrate.
  • Additional District Judge / Additional Magistrate: Honourable K.M.J.P. Samarasinghe is serving as the Additional District Judge / Additional Magistrate.