CWC leaders attended the hearing in Colombo on Monday

A bench headed by the Chief Justice (CJ) ordered the Attorney General (AG) to take steps to release the suspects on bail as soon as possible if they are no longer required for questioning.

The AG, in a report submitted to the court, said 361 Tamil suspects are being detained under Detention Orders in detention centres.

361 Tamil detainees

Another 102 suspects, the report said, are remanded in custody by the judiciary.

	The arrests described as 'operation carpet arrest'

A lawyer representing the petitioner, Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), informed the courts that the suspects are required to pay lump sums when they are released on bail.

He requested the courts to release them on lenient bail conditions, as many suspects are still in custody as they could not afford the bail money.

CJ Sarath Silva said he would order the relevant magistrates courts to release them on more lenient bail conditions.

'Operation carpet arrest'

Nearly one thousand Tamils were arrested in cordon operations in Colombo by the security forces after two bomb blasts in the capital.

At least 20 were killed and many more injured in the suspected Tamil Tiger bomb blasts.

International and Sri Lankan human rights groups condemned the government action to arbitrary arrest ethnic Tamils after the attacks.

Leader of the Western Peoples Front, Mano Ganeshan, MP, described the operation as 'operation carpet arrest'.