Court rejects Rajitha’s anticipatory bail application

• The Bribery Commission initiated an investigation in 2013 following a tip-off about the illegal sale of a dredging vessel belonging to the Lanka Fisheries Harbour Corporation (LFHC)

By Bhagya Silva

Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali Jayatunga rejected the anticipatory bail filed by Former Minister Rajitha Senaratne.   

Former Minister Rajitha Senaratne has filed an anticipatory  bail application on July 14 before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court,  seeking release prior to any attempt by the Bribery Commission to arrest  him.   

Appearing on behalf of the Commission, Counsel Sulochana  Hettiarachchi stated that the investigation was initiated in 2013  following an anonymous tip-off, which claimed that a dredging vessel  belonging to the Corporation was being illegally sold for scrap. During  the investigation, it was revealed that a project proposal had been  forwarded to a Korean company for the purpose of extracting and  purifying sand from the Kirinda Fisheries Harbour and distributing it to  the local market. And the Korean company had agreed to pay Rs. 300 per  cube of purified sand and bear the cost of the other related facilities.  In the course of implementing the project, the dredging vessel and  other equipment belonging to the LFHC had been handed over to the Korean  company without due process, resulting in a financial loss of Rs. 26.2  million to the Corporation.   

The Commission further stated that the project had been  carried out entirely outside the legal framework, without obtaining  feasibility reports from key institutions such as the Geological Survey  and Mines Bureau and the Central Environmental Authority. It was also  revealed that the suspect had initiated the project by marking it as  “APPROVED” without informing any of the directors. Relevant  documentation supporting this allegation was submitted to court.   

The officer also told that when the suspect was summoned by the  Bribery Commission, he had responded via a letter claiming poor health,  but the document presented was not a formal medical report. According  to the Deputy Director General of the Commission, it was merely a  prescription, with no medical certification, and no date was indicated  on it. The Commission submitted that the suspect was deliberately  avoiding the process and, therefore, requested court to reject the  anticipatory bail application and issue a warrant for his arrest.   

Appearing on behalf of the suspect, President’s Counsel Maithri Gunaratne told the court.   

“Your Honour, this was not a project arbitrarily launched  by the former Minister based on his personal whims. Cabinet approval was  obtained for sand excavation work in 2008 and again in 2012. This  project was implemented in accordance with those Cabinet decisions, not  through any private initiative of the Minister.”   

He said, “The Bribery Commission acts arbitrarily and  selectively. They seem to have an insatiable appetite to arrest  individuals.”