Yoshitha, Karannagoda Case To Be Called On October 13

COLOMBO (News 1st): The corruption case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa and former Commander of the Navy Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda was taken up before the Colombo High Court today.

High Court Judge Ravindra Premaratne ordered that the case be called on October 13 for a pre-trial conference.

Karannagoda is accused of abusing his position as Navy Commander between September 1, 2006, and June 8, 2007, to unlawfully facilitate Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s participation in a training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom, thereby causing a financial loss to the government.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa is accused of obtaining an unlawful benefit through the same act.

Following a lengthy investigation, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed indictments against the two accused before the High Court on July 31.

When the case was taken up today, President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando, appearing for Wasantha Karannagoda, informed court that the defence had not received complete copies of certain statements submitted by the prosecution as evidence.

President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, appearing for Yoshitha Rajapaksa, requested clear copies of certain documents submitted by the prosecution, stating that some of them were unclear.

Deputy Director General of the Bribery Commission Ruwini Wickramasinghe, responding on behalf of the Commission, said some of the documents requested by the defence had already been submitted to the High Court and therefore could not be released by the Commission. She said only documents currently in the Commission’s possession could be provided.

After considering the submissions, the judge ordered that steps be taken to provide the documents requested by the defence that are in the custody of the court, subject to the applicable fees.

The judge also ordered the Bribery Commission to provide the defence with the relevant documents in its possession.