By A.J.A. Abeynayake

The Colombo Magistrates’ Court was left with no alternative but to release individuals accused of corruption if the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) failed to follow court directives and continued to act dismissively, said Colombo Chief Magistrate Adithya Patabendige yesterday (25).

Magistrate Patabendige addressed those remarks to Asitha Anthony, Assistant Director General of CIABOC.

The Chief Magistrate noted that the court had previously instructed CIABOC to amend a charge sheet against a suspect because the same charge had been filed on two separate occasions. That directive had been issued after the court carefully reviewed the charge sheet and considered preliminary objections raised. If the CIABOC persisted in such high-handed manner, the court would release the suspects, he warned.

Magistrate Patabendige emphasised that the court had instructed the prosecution to amend charges when it became evident that the case could not proceed as it stood. He added that the prosecution was traditionally obliged to make the recommended amendments.

Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), Priyath Wickrama, along with R. Sanjaya Kumara Chandrasekera and Nihal Keppetipola, has been charged by CIABOC for allegedly causing a loss of Rs. 65 million to the government by employing 319 Ports Authority staff for election-related work during the 2015 Presidential Election. The case is scheduled to be heard again on 8 November 2024.