Shiranthi’s anticipatory bail application

The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court yesterday issued notice on the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) to appear before court on October 12 in connection with an anticipatory bail application filed by former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa.

The application relates to an ongoing investigation into the financial affairs of the ‘Siriliya Saviya’ organisation.

Rajapaksa’s lawyers filed the anticipatory bail application on Monday (05), seeking an order preventing her arrest in connection with the investigation.

Meanwhile, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka on Monday night from Malaysia after travelling overseas for medical treatment.

She had left for Singapore in the early hours of September 16, after being admitted to a private hospital, in Colombo, the previous day.

According to reports, she was taken directly from the hospital to the airport before leaving the country.

The Rajapaksa family has rejected reports that she knowingly left Sri Lanka despite being subject to an earlier summons issued by the FCID. The family has maintained that she had not been informed by the FCID of any such summons before she arrived at the airport.

A 10-member medical board yesterday informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court that former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director, retired Major General Suresh Sallay, could be discharged from the Colombo National Hospital.

Following the submission, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris told Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena that Sallay would be taken back into the custody of the CID after being discharged from hospital.

Sallay has been receiving treatment at the National Hospital, since June 07, including at the emergency care unit attached to the Cardiology Unit.

The medical board’s report stated that his condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged. The court had previously been informed that his cardiac and mental health conditions were stable and that he could be discharged once treatment for a dental condition was completed.

A previous report by a nine-member medical panel had stated that Sallay had developed an enlarged heart and had been fitted with a medical device to manage the condition. The prosecution informed court that about Rs. 4 million in public funds had been spent on the device.

The court had earlier issued notices on the 10 doctors treating Sallay, directing them to appear before court today

(07), following facts presented by the CID through a motion.

Sallay is one of three suspects facing proceedings before the Fort Magistrate’s Court in connection with investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

During an earlier hearing, the prosecution raised concerns that passwords to Sallay’s laptop and mobile phones had not been provided despite a court order. The defence maintained that passwords of military intelligence personnel were regularly changed for security reasons.

The Magistrate yesterday ordered that a report on the progress of the investigation be submitted to court on October 21.

Retired Senior Professor Kotapitiye Rahula Anunayake Maha Thera has requested the Commissioner General of Prisons to allow Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera to retain and wear his robes while in custody.

In a letter to the Prison Commissioner General yesterday (6), the senior prelate said Gnanasara Thera belonged to the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha of the Mahavihara lineage.

The letter was issued following reports that Gnanasara Thera had been produced before court in civilian attire.

Rahula Anunayake Maha Thera said he was not expressing any objection to, or opinion on, the court judgment concerning Gnanasara Thera, stressing that the supremacy of the judiciary was fully respected.

However, he said matters relating to a monk’s robes came under the authority of the monk concerned and the Maha Sangha Sabha to which he belonged.

According to the letter, the removal of a monk’s robes was an ecclesiastical matter that should be carried out with the approval of the Mahanayake Thera of the relevant Nikaya or Maha Sangha Sabha.

The senior prelate said that, in keeping with ecclesiastical law and established tradition, a monk should be permitted to retain and wear his robes, including when being taken outside the prison.

Disregarding this established practice could set a wrong precedent for the Buddhist Sasana, he warned.

Rahula Anunayake Maha Thera said the Sangha Sabha had received no report indicating that Gnanasara Thera had committed an offence under the Vinaya Pitaka or that there was any other serious ecclesiastical reason warranting the removal of his robes.

He said it was the responsibility of the relevant Sangha Sabha to conduct a disciplinary inquiry and determine whether a monk should be disrobed or allowed to retain his robes.

Accordingly, the senior prelate requested the prison authorities not to remove Gnanasara Thera’s robes and to allow him to wear them while in custody.