Outside the court an emotional Mr Frank McBrearty said he was not surprised by the withdrawal of the summons. He confirmed he would now proceed with a civil case in the High Court.
"It will be a long time before I get over this; I am not feeling well and I have high blood pressure. I have spent 2 1/2 years trying to prove my innocence and we are looking forward to the High Court.
"I still have a lot of good friends in the Garda, thank God. It has been tough but I am a tough guy and I don't give in easy," he added.
Counsel for the McBreartys, Mr Peter Nolan, said the withdrawal of the summons was "unique" in the District Court.
"I have never seen summonses of this kind so vigorously prosecuted and then withdrawn. Had it not been for the tenacity and financial resources of Mr McBrearty, it could have simply gone through the courts," he said.
He referred to evidence during the 40 days of hearings when certain gardai threatened to pull down the so-called "empire" Mr McBrearty was reputed to have built in Raphoe. "Now the empire strikes back," Mr Nolan added.
Referring to documents sought by the defence relating to the Garda investigation into the death of Mr Richard Barron, Mr Nolan said they would seek these under discovery in the civil High Court proceedings.
Last month, Judge John O'Donnell warned he would throw out the summonses unless the State was ready to proceed.
Last year, Mr McBrearty sought a judicial review to adjourn the case until a high-level internal Garda investigation under Assistant Commissioner Mr Kevin Carty was completed. However, this application was refused.
On May 29th, the State legal team was granted an adjournment of the case on the same basis. However, Judge O'Donnell warned if it was not ready to go ahead with the case yesterday, the summonses would be struck out.
According to a Garda press spokesman, the report into the investigation of certain gardai in Co Donegal was not expected to conclude for two weeks.