May 16, Colombo (LNW): The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has declined a request made by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to revoke bail previously granted to MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake over a high-profile corruption investigation stemming from his time as Chief Minister of the Uva Provincial Council.
The MP, who is already in remand custody over the case, was brought before Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali today (16) as proceedings continued into allegations that he was responsible for financial misconduct amounting to a loss exceeding Rs. 17.6 million to the state.
The charges relate to irregularities said to have taken place during his term in office in 2016.
The Bribery Commission’s legal representative argued that recent developments warranted a revocation of bail. According to testimony presented in court, the MP’s wife had allegedly contacted former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and persuaded him to issue a public statement portraying Dassanayake in a favourable light.
The commission maintained that this was an attempt to interfere with the ongoing investigation and potentially influence public and judicial perception of the case. It further argued that the former President’s remarks were made without a full understanding of the legal context and were instigated for the purpose of exoneration.
However, Chief Magistrate Lakmali, after reviewing the claims, ruled that the evidence provided did not demonstrate a sufficient basis to support the revocation of bail. She observed that while the statement by the former President may be politically sensitive, it did not, on its own, constitute a legal breach warranting remand.
The court concluded that the threshold for overturning bail had not been met and rejected the Bribery Commission’s motion accordingly.
