Former Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody yesterday said that he was not guilty when charges against him were read out in the Colombo High Court yesterday (17).

The trial in the case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) NPP MP Jayakody commenced before the Colombo High Court.

According to the charges, the accused, while serving as Procurement and Import Manager at the Lanka Fertilizer Company in 2016, allegedly caused a loss of over Rs. 8.85 million to the government by acting in a manner that provided an undue advantage to a private company during a procurement process related to carpeting work at the Hunupitiya warehouse complex.

The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Rashantha Godawela.

Jayakody resigned from the energy portfolio after accusations regarding corruption in coal procurement for 2025/2026 season.

A coalition of 17 Tamil youth and university student organisations across the United Kingdom has demanded the full repeal of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and an end to the prosecution of Eelam Tamil artiste Sangeethsan Ganeskumar, days after the rapper, known as Hiphop Sangee, was released on bail but left facing continuing charges over a song.

Ganeskumar, a 24-year-old from Kilinochchi, was arrested on 2 June after Sri Lankan police alleged that videos he uploaded, following a performance at a temple festival in Navatkuli, in the Chavakachcheri area of Jaffna, sought to promote the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He was remanded under the PTA until 17 June, before being released on bail on 12 June, after the Attorney General withdrew the terrorism charge and moved to proceed under Section 120 of the Penal Code, the lesser offence of exciting disaffection. The case against him continues, and campaigners are demanding that the charges be dropped altogether.

In a joint statement, the organisations described the arrest, under the PTA, as “a blatant violation of freedom of expression and fundamental human rights”, and cast it as part of a continuing effort “to criminalise Tamil political, cultural, and national expression while the international community fails to take meaningful action”.

A discussion between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Circular Revision Committee appointed to review and update circulars issued under the State Lands Ordinance and the Land Development Ordinance was held on Tuesday  (16)  afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat. The Committee has been mandated to recommend to the Cabinet the cancellation of out-dated circulars, the issuance of new circulars, and the revision of existing circulars to ensure alignment with current requirements.

The Committee is chaired by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, D.P. Wickramasinghe. Its other members include the Senior Additional Secretary to the President (Constitutional and Statutory Affairs Division), Legal Adviser to the Presidential Secretariat, an Additional Solicitor General from the Attorney General’s Department, the Additional Secretary (Lands) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, the Additional Director General of the National Budget Department, the Western Province Land Commissioner, the Divisional Secretary of Nuwaragampalatha East, the Deputy Chief Valuer of the Valuation Department and the Director (Lands) of the Mahaweli Authority.

The Commissioner General of Lands serves as the Convener of the Committee.

The Committee’s responsibilities include establishing a reliable, uniform and regularised system of land taxation within the existing legal framework, ensuring state revenue optimisation without prejudice to lessees. This includes reviewing annual lease rentals charged on long-term leases and grants, aligning related circulars with current requirements, and amending or formulating new provisions and directives where necessary.

During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the proposals submitted by the expert committee in relation to the revision of these circulars.

The President emphasised that a new, time-appropriate policy should be formulated to address the underutilisation of State lands and to ensure their more efficient use.

Deputy Minister of Lands and Irrigation Aravinda Senarath, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Legal Adviser to the President, Senior Attorney-at-Law J.M. Wijebandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation D.P. Wickramasinghe, Additional Solicitor General of the Attorney General’s Department, President’s Counsel Ravindra Pathiranage, Commissioner General of Lands Chandana Ranaweraarachchi, Director General (Institutional Affairs), Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development J.G.L.S. Jayawardena, Additional Director General (National Budget Department) D.A. Asantha Gunasekara, and Commissioner of Lands (Leasing Division) P.K.C. Nilani Mahindaganamage, together with members of the Committee, were also present.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation also attended the meeting.

(PMD)