The Colombo High Court yesterday dismissed an appeal filed by Shashi Weerawansa, wife of former Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa, against a two-year prison sentence and a Rs. 100,000 fine imposed for obtaining a diplomatic passport by furnishing false information.

Delivering judgment, High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne affirmed the conviction and sentence handed down by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court in 2022.

The Magistrate’s Court had found Weerawansa guilty of offences relating to the possession of an unlawfully obtained foreign travel document and sentenced her to two years’ imprisonment together with the monetary penalty.

With the dismissal of the appeal, the original conviction and sentence remain in force.

Parliament yesterday (11) approved an extension of the deadline earlier granted to the Special Parliamentary Committee appointed to conduct a comprehensive study into the lack of preparedness for Cyclone Ditwah, and to submit its findings, recommendations, and proposals to Parliament.

Accordingly, the committee has now been given time until September 19 to present its report, extending the original deadline set by Parliament on January 21, 2026.

Under the initial mandate, the committee was required to submit its report within three months of its first meeting. As a result, the report had originally been scheduled to be presented on June 19.

Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa was named the Chairman of the committee appointed to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah last year.

On January 21, a group of opposition members moved a motion to appoint a Select Committee of Parliament to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah and report to Parliament and submit its proposals and recommendations.

According to the motion, the loss of lives, damage to property and damage to the people caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which is considered to be the worst tragedy in the history of Sri Lanka, have not yet been assessed and therefore the Select Committee will be mandated to conduct a comprehensive study on the preparedness and the corresponding events.

The Chair and Members of the Select Committee were appointed by the Speaker in terms of the provisions of Standing Order 101 of Parliament.

The government had not yet obtained Cabinet approval for raiing the retirement ages of judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told Parliament yesterday.

Responding to questions raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa under Standing Order 27(2), the Minister said requests for an extension of the retirement age had been received not only from members of the judiciary but also from professionals in other sectors.

He said the Government was examining the requests on their merits, noting that while some were reasonable, others appeared to be politically motivated.

Minister Nanayakkara stressed, however, that no official decision had been taken on the matter and that Cabinet approval had not been sought or granted for any revision to the existing retirement age of judges.