Former army Chief-of-Staff files petition over carrom board indictments

Colombo, July 21 (Daily Mirror) - Former Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, (Rtd) Major General Nanda Mallawaarachchi has filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal, challenging the Attorney General’s decision to indict him over the import of carrom boards and checker boards in 2014.

This application relates to events that occurred while Mallawarachchi served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Sports.

The petitioner seeks a stay order on the operation of indictments filed against him before the Colombo High Court, arguing that the charges are unjust given his previous role as a prosecution witness in a related case filed by the Bribery Commission.

Mallawarachchi contends that he has fully cooperated with authorities and now finds himself being indicted in a second case arising from the same incident, this time by the Attorney General.

The petitioner stated that although the Attorney General’s Department and the Bribery Commission are two independent bodies, both represent arms of the State, and their actions must be coordinated with respect for legal consistency and fairness.

He further stated that his cooperative conduct, status as a key witness and the identical factual basis of the earlier case warrant the Attorney General’s reconsideration of the indictment.

The matter was called before a two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya (President) and Justice Priyantha Fernando. The petition has been fixed for support on July 28.