August 25, Colombo (LNW): Concerns have arisen within the judiciary after Mount Lavinia Magistrate Chathurika de Silva raised questions over procedural irregularities in an ongoing investigation concerning an allegedly forged property deed tied to a public institution.
The matter involves a two-storey building belonging to the National Workers Institute, reportedly leased out under questionable circumstances for Rs. 3.6 million. The property is at the centre of a legal battle that implicates several high-profile political figures, including Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe, and Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal.
During proceedings held on August 22, Magistrate de Silva questioned why the case file had been submitted to the Attorney General’s Department before statements had been recorded from the named suspects.
In response, representatives of the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau (CFIB) were unable to provide a clear justification for the early handover of the file. They did, however, confirm that Minister Samarasinghe had since provided a statement, in which he claimed to have been involved in the property lease merely as a representative of a decision made by the executive committee of the National Workers Congress Trade Union.
Under a directive previously issued by the court, the three politicians in question were called to appear before the CFIB, and their statements have now been recorded and submitted.
Despite this development, concerns persist about the timeline of the investigation and the apparent reluctance of the police to carry out arrest orders issued earlier in the process.
Appearing on behalf of the complainant, President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne criticised the conduct of the police, accusing them of deliberately delaying the case under the pretext of awaiting direction from the Attorney General. He alleged that law enforcement had failed on two separate occasions to execute arrest warrants and had misrepresented the status of the investigation to the court.
The case has been adjourned until September 26, when it will resume under a new magistrate, as Chathurika de Silva has been reassigned to another court.
Prior to her departure, Magistrate de Silva clarified that her transfer was a routine decision made by the Judicial Service Commission and emphasised that no external influence had affected her handling of the matter.
