Inland Revenue Deputy Commissioner released on bail in bribery case

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo, July 22 (Daily Mirror) - K.C.K. Kumara, Deputy Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department, who was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 8,000, was released on bail today.

Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala granted bail with two sureties of Rs. 1 million each. The court imposed strict conditions and warned the suspect not to interfere with the ongoing investigation.

The arrest followed a complaint lodged by a businessman, who alleged that the suspect had initially demanded Rs. 100,000 to issue a tax clearance certificate for 2025. The amount was later reduced to Rs. 50,000, and the suspect is said to have accepted Rs. 42,000 on July 3. Subsequently, the Bribery Commission organized a raid and arrested Kumara while he was allegedly accepting the remaining Rs. 8,000.

Senior Counsel Darshana Kuruppu, appearing for the suspect, argued that exceptional circumstances justified the granting of bail. He informed the court that the suspect’s 14-year-old son, a high-performing student at Matara Rahula College, had stopped attending school following his father's arrest and is due to sit for term exams on July 24.

After considering submissions from both the prosecution and the defence, the Magistrate released the suspect on bail.

Senior Counsel Darshana Kuruppu appeared with Attorneys Anjana Adhikaramge, Sahan Weerasinghe, and Sudarsha P. Silva for the defence.