Ex-judge gets bail
Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday released former Homagama District Judge Sunil Abeysinghe on Rs 10 million personal bail with two sureties. He was alleged to have accepted Rs 300,000 from a Hanwella hotel owner to deliver a judgment of a civil suit in her favour.
Released on bail considering exceptional circumstances
Magistrate Pilapitiya released the second suspect on personal bail and ordered that the sureties should be the suspect’s close relatives while the passport of the suspect was impounded.
The suspect was released on bail considering the exceptional circumstances submitted by the Counsel Hemantha Warnakulasuriya PC
However, the Magistrate remanded the first suspect Mahinda Kithsiri, the Homagama Police JSD officer till June 24. The Magistrate overruled the exceptional circumstances submitted by Counsel Ajith Pathirana seeking bail to the first suspect.
At the outset Deputy Director of the Bribery Commission Ms. Ranjani Senaviratne submitted that the Commission had to further investigate certain facts that were revealed during investiga- tions.
She said the Commission could not reveal those confidential details in public.
Thus she moved court to remand the two suspects further as the investigations on the suspects were not concluded.
Counsel Ajith Pathirana making submissions on behalf of the first suspect objected the submissions of the Deputy Director of the Commission and said that according to the Provisions of the Bribery Act confidentiality could not be merely secured in a bribery case.
He further said the facts of a case could be secured for the reason of confidentiality only in criminal cases.
He asserted that even to do that a request to the magistrate to keep the brief in safe should be made.
He said on the first day of the inquiry before the court when the Magistrate questioned the commission over that issue the prosecuting counsel was silent
He also stressed if the court was not satisfied over the grounds on which the confidentiality was sought the court could grant bail to the suspect under the Act of Criminal Procedure Code.
Counsel Pathirana said that on three instances the complainant had complained to the SSP, ASP and the IGP against he monk who was a neighbour of the complainant for the reason that the complainant presumed that an injustice happened to her in the District Court.
The Counsel moved to release the first suspect on bail by means of the power vested on the magistrate as thee are many contradictions in the bearing of the prosecution.
Counsel Hemantha Warnakulasuriya PC submitted that when the suspects were brought to the Magistrate’s house to remand he and several other lawyers who went there were prevented from meeting the suspects by the bribery officers. He said this was a total violation of their rights that was guaranteed by the constitution.
Thereafter the suspects were taken to Bambalapitya unlawfully by the bribery officers. He also said the so-called goons who had come to the vicinity of the house of the Magistrate at the time of producing the suspects the Commission should have been complained to the Magistrate by the bribery officers.
He challenged that the Commission blatantly lied the Magistrate during the whole investigation He said the commission while having all facilities to video the whole episode did not do so but presumed that they had videoed the whole episode now double-dealing in court as there is no case against the suspects..
He also said the District Judge who was in Judicial service for over 25 years had led a secluded life with his family for which his wife and children are used to. Therefore they now find it difficult to lead a normal life without the assistance of the suspect and to grant him bail.
The Magistrate while releasing the District Judge on Rs 10 million surety bail remanded the JSD officer till June 24.