Petition Filed to Dismiss Charges in Rs. 39M Carrom Board Scandal

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Court of Appeal today (1) ordered that a petition filed by former Minister Nalin Fernando, who is currently serving a prison sentence, be taken up for hearing on June 17.

The petition has been filed seeking the dismissal of the indictment submitted against him in connection with the controversial “carrom board” case.

The matter was taken up before a bench of Court of Appeal judges P. Kumararatnam and Pradeep Hettiarachchi earlier today.

The case relates to allegations that, during the 2015 Presidential Election period, 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 draughts boards were imported and distributed through the Sathosa network to political offices of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, causing a loss of Rs. 39 million to the government. 

Based on these allegations, the Attorney General had filed indictments against Nalin Fernando under the Public Property Act before the Colombo High Court.

Appearing on behalf of the defendant, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry informed the court that his client had already been convicted in a separate case filed by the Bribery Commission over the same incident. He said that the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar had imposed a sentence of 30 years of rigorous imprisonment on his client.

The President’s Counsel argued that despite this conviction, the Attorney General had initiated fresh legal proceedings on the same set of allegations, which he stated was contrary to the law. 

He emphasized that filing two cases for the same offence violates legal principles.

He further noted that although preliminary objections had been raised before the High Court during the trial, those objections were rejected by the presiding High Court judge.

Accordingly, through this petition, the defense is seeking a ruling declaring that the charges filed by the Attorney General are unlawful.

After considering the submissions, the Court of Appeal bench ordered that the petition be called on June 17 to confirm facts and proceed further.