– The Supreme Court today set aside a High Court-at-Bar order that had discharged several accused from key charges in the Central Bank Treasury bond issuance case and ruled that a company can be prosecuted under the Offences Against Public Property Act.

The judgment was delivered by a five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justice Shiran Gooneratne, Justice Achala Wengappuli, Justice Mahinda Samayawardhena and justice Arjuna Obeyesekere.The apex court allowed the appeal filed by the Attorney General and overturned the High Court-at-Bar’s order dated December 6, 2021, which had discharged all accused from counts 1 to 11 of the indictment.

This appeal relates to the controversial Treasury bond auction held on March 31, 2016, one of three high-profile bond issuance prosecutions involving allegations of massive losses to the State.The indictment names ten accused, including Perpetual Treasuries Ltd., former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and businessman Arjun Aloysius.