YAHAPALANAYA IN PRACTICE Holds proper legal procedure was not followed

Colombo Chief Magistrate stops eviction of Bodhiraja Mw. shop owners

The Colombo Municipality was ordered not to eject shop owners of Bodhiraja Mawatha, Pettah from their shops for the non-payment of arrears of rents and rates without following a judicial course of action.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday made this direction to the Colombo Municipality on considering the submissions made by Counsel Lakshan Dias for the aggrieved complainants in the case against the president, secretary and treasurer of the Federation of Self Employees’Union (FOSE).

Counsel said that the Colombo Municipality it had issued issued had asked shop owners to pay rents and rates to the municipality before May 20. However, counsel Dias said that his clients had already paid the rates and the rents to the FOSE.

Mahinda Kahandagama who is also a CM councillor had asked stall owners to refrain from paying the rates and rents to the municipality, an offence punishable under the Public Property Act.

He also told court that the municipality was to eject the alleged defaulters without a proper judicial course of action. He moved that an order is made requiring the municipality to follow proper judicial procedure before ejecting his clients.

In this case the president of the FOSE, Mahinda Kahandagama who is also CM councillor, a public officer had asked stall owners to refrain from paying the rates and rents to the municipality an offence punishable under the public Property Act.

The secretary ShanakaAsoka Hettiarachchy and the treasurer Lakshmendra Kumara de Silva were alleged to have aided and abetted the first suspect to commit the offence.

At the onset of the inquiry before Chief Magistrate Pilapitiya, Colombo Fraud Bureau (CFB) filed a report and submitting that they investigated the matter on the direction of the court and had recorded the statements of over 500 shop owners. The case was postponed for September 11.