Yoshitha and ex-navy chief Karannagoda’s case fixed for pre-trial conference
The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Ravindra Premaratne today (17), with both accused, who are currently out on bail, appearing before the court.Appearing for Karannagoda, President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando informed the court that complete copies of certain statements submitted before the court as evidence in the case had not been provided to the defense.
Meanwhile, President’s Counsel Sampath Mendis, appearing for Yoshitha Rajapaksa, requested that clear copies of certain documents provided by the CIABOC be handed over to the defense, as some of the documents were unclear.
Responding to the submissions, Deputy Director General of CIABOC Ruwini Wickramasinghe said that some of the documents requested by the defence had already been submitted to the High Court and therefore could not be provided by the CIABOC, while documents in the possession of the commission could be handed over.After considering the submissions, the court ordered that steps be taken to provide the documents requested by the defense that are currently in the custody of the court, subject to the payment of the prescribed fees.
The court also ordered that any other relevant documents in the possession of the CIABOC be provided to the defense.The CIABOC has filed the indictments against the two accused, alleging that a corruption offence was committed by recruiting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Yoshitha Rajapaksa as a Cadet Officer to the executive branch of the Sri Lanka Navy in 2006 despite him not possessing the required qualifications, and by spending public funds to send him for training at the Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom outside the established procedure.
