The Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed a revision application filed by Yoshitha Rajapaksa in connection with the money laundering case popularly known as the “Menik Malla” case.

The application challenged a ruling of the Colombo High Court, which had earlier rejected a preliminary objection raised by the defence during trial proceedings.

The judgment was delivered by a bench comprising Justices Amal Ranaraja and Sumudu Premachandra.

The Electricity Consumers’ Association yesterday urged the government to pass on to electricity consumers the savings resulting from the recent reduction in diesel prices, claiming that the lower fuel cost would save more than Rs. 60 million a day in electricity generation.

Association Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika said that with the price of a litre of diesel reduced by Rs. 25 under the latest fuel price revision, the cost of generating electricity would decline by approximately Rs. 62 million per day, or more than Rs. 600 million over 10 days.

He also called on the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to intervene immediately to ensure that these savings are passed on to electricity consumers.

Dhammika said: “On average, around 2,500 metric tonnes of fuel are used daily for electricity generation. This includes diesel, fuel oil and naphtha.

“That translates into approximately 2.5 million litres of fuel being consumed each day. If the price of a litre falls by Rs. 25, the daily saving amounts to Rs. 62.5 million, or more than Rs. 60 million. Over a month, the saving would be around Rs. 1.875 billion. Therefore, these benefits should be passed on to electricity consumers without delay. The PUCSL must intervene immediately to ensure consumers receive this relief.”

Dhammika also questioned why the prices of naphtha and fuel oil had not been revised when diesel prices were reduced.

“If diesel prices have been reduced by Rs. 25 per litre, there is reason to believe that the prices of naphtha and fuel oil should have declined by an even greater margin. The government should immediately explain the basis on which those prices were left unchanged,” he said.

He further noted that the government’s “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life” policy statement had pledged to adopt a transparent fuel pricing formula and questioned why that commitment had not yet been implemented.

By Anuradha Hiripitiyage

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama on Friday ordered the release on bail of former Navy Commander, Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Kumara Jayadeva Karannagoda, who is accused of corruption in connection with the 2006 recruitment of Yoshitha Rajapaksa to the Sri Lanka Navy.

The prosecution alleges that Rajapaksa, who did not meet the prescribed recruitment criteria, was nevertheless enlisted as an Executive Branch Midshipman and later sent for training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom at State expense, outside established procedures.

The Magistrate ordered Karannagoda be released on two sureties of Rs. 2.5 million each and imposed a foreign travel ban.

Delivering the order, the Magistrate observed that the mere continuation of investigations is not, in itself, sufficient grounds to remand a suspect. The court further noted that there was no material indicating attempts to influence witnesses or interfere with the investigation, and that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient grounds for continued remand.