Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s case Prosecution objection prompts court review of defence medical evidence

The case was fixed for further hearing on January 28 

By Bhagya Silva   

The Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara yesterday ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to continue its investigations and submit all related reports in the case filed against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe over the alleged misuse of state funds by undertaking a private visit to London under the guise of an official tour.  

The Magistrate observed that the medical reports earlier submitted by the defence should be reviewed by the doctors who had issued them, with reasons obtained and clarified. The court made this observation in response to the objection raised by Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peeris, who appeared for the prosecution, opposing the continuation of bail. He stated that it was necessary to verify the authenticity of the medical reports submitted by the defence.   

Also Magistrate yesterday ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to expedite the ongoing investigations into the case involving any other suspects found to be connected to the matter.   

The Magistrate further directed the CID to conduct an inquiry into the incidents that occurred within the court premises on the previous date, to determine whether they amounted to contempt of court, to identify those responsible and to report to court on the action taken against them.   

Deputy Solicitor General Wasantha Perera, presenting the progress of the investigations, informed the court that the former President, while in office, had undertaken official visits to Cuba and the United States from September 13 to 20, 2023, and thereafter, on September 22 and 23, had proceeded to London claiming it to be an official visit, while in fact it was a private tour. He further said that investigations were ongoing and that it was necessary to obtain a statement from former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Saroja Sirisena, who is currently residing in the UK.  

DSG Dileepa Peeris, appearing for the complainant, told the court that the medical reports previously submitted by the defence had not been issued by any official medical board or certified by the Judicial Medical Officer. He further pointed out that the defence had produced these reports directly before court without presenting them to the prosecution and alleged that this amounted not only to a misuse of state funds but also to a misuse of the judicial process.   

Displaying photographs circulated on social media showing the former President reading books while being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the DSG remarked, “How can a person admitted to the ICU for a serious condition read large books like this? How could he be making phone calls to others from there?”  

He further told court that the reports in question had been issued by a medical panel headed by Deputy Director of the National Hospital, Dr. K.P.A. Wijesinghe, without any directive from the court or the Judicial Medical Officer and that none of these had been shared with the prosecution.   

“This is an attempt to mislead the court and obtain orders by deception,” the DSG charged.   

Responding to these submissions, President’s Counsel Tilak Marapana, appearing for the former President, stated that his client had not been admitted to the ICU for any of his pre-existing health conditions, but because he had suffered from dehydration and exhaustion after spending nearly ten hours at the CID without food or water.   

He added that Wickremesinghe still suffers from two blocked arteries in his heart, for which he had sought treatment in Singapore, but surgery was deemed unnecessary as blood flow had been restored through alternate pathways.   

After hearing both sides, the Magistrate observed that the previous Magistrate had granted bail after considering all relevant facts and documents presented by the defence. Therefore, he stated that he did not intend to make any new orders altering the existing bail order.   

The Magistrate, however, noted that if the prosecution wished to verify the authenticity of the medical reports submitted by the defence, they may do so by obtaining explanations from the respective doctors who had issued the reports.   

Concluding the proceedings, the Magistrate remarked that the central question in this investigation was whether the former President’s visit to London was an official or a private trip.   

Accordingly, the Magistrate ordered the CID to complete the remaining investigations and   present all findings at the next hearing.   

The case was thereafter fixed for further hearing on January 28.