Sri Lanka, May 21 -- The Court of Appeal on Monday (May 20) ordered the acquittal and release of Sivanathan Premanath alias 'Nedumaran', a former regional leader in Vavuniya for the former militant group People's Liberation of Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), who had been convicted and sentenced to death for the 2009 killing of a doctor in Vavuniya.

The verdict was delivered by a two-judge bench comprising Justices Shashi Mahendran and Amal Ranaraja, following an appeal filed by the defendant against the Vavuniya High Court's earlier ruling.

Premanath was indicted by the Attorney General for the fatal shooting of Dr. A. Meera Mohideen in Vavuniya on April 20, 2009, during the final phase of the civil conflict. After a prolonged tria...