Order on 8 October in Case Against Three Defendants Including Shasheendra Rajapaksa
29-Sep-2026.
The Colombo High Court has ordered that its decision on the preliminary objections raised by the defendants in the case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption against three defendants, including former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa, will be delivered on 8 October.
The defendants have been indicted on charges of committing the offence of “corruption” and aiding and abetting the commission of the offence by using their influence over certain government officials attached to the Office for Reparations to obtain compensation amounting to Rs. 8.85 million.
The case was taken up for hearing on September 28 before Colombo High Court Judge Ravindra Premaratne.
The defendants, namely former State Minister Shasheendra Rajapaksa, former Director of the Office for Reparations Sepalika Saman Kumari and former Director General of the Mahaweli Authority Keerthi Bandara Kodagama, who have been released on bail, were present in court.
During the hearing, lawyers appearing for the defendants, namely Asthika Devendra, Chaminda Athukorala and President’s Counsel Premaratne, raised preliminary objections concerning the charges filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
In response, Deputy Director General Subhashini Sriwardena, appearing for the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, made submissions before court.
Properties, including a building illegally constructed on land belonging to the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority in the Sewanagala, Girihippanwewa area, had been damaged during the violence that occurred on 9 May 2022.
Against the background that compensation for the said property had officially been rejected, the defendants have been indicted by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on charges of using their influence over certain government officials attached to the Office for Reparations to obtain Rs. 8.85 million in compensation contrary to that decision, thereby committing the offence of “corruption” and aiding and abetting its commission.
