The majority of the three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court has ruled that the charges filed under the Public Property Act in the case filed against Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake who was been accused of criminal breach of trust over Rs. 36 billion worth of bonds at a Central Bank bond auction in 2016.
Accordingly, the bench today (04) ordered that the accused be acquitted only of the charges filed under the Public Property Act.
The verdict on the preliminary objections filed by the accused in this case was announced today and the presiding judge said that only natural persons can file charges under Section 7 of the Public Property Act. Accordingly, the defendant in this case, Purchasing Treasury, is not a natural person and cannot be prosecuted under the Public Property Act. The judge also said that the charges filed against 11 defendants, including Aloysius, under the Public Property Act could not be continued.
Accordingly, the bench directed that the case be re-called on May 04 for a “pre-trial hearing” to proceed with the case only on the other charges.
