The Colombo High Court today indicted former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka over a hit and run accident in Rajagiriya in 2016.
The indictment was served on charges of reckless driving and failure to prevent an accident.
Colombo High Court Judge Namal Walalle read out the indictment in open court and handed it over to the accused when the case was taken up for hearing this morning.
The lawyer representing the former Minister informed Court that his senior counsel intends to file a preliminary objection, challenging the court’s indictment on the grounds that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the allegations.
Meanwhile, Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, who represented the complainant, said that the objection could be filed at the outset of the case.
Complainant Sandeep Sampath, who was severely injured in the accident, attended court proceedings for the first time today, since the court commenced hearings on the case.
The Colombo High Court thereafter postponed the hearing to 27 April, and ordered former Minister Ranawaka’s legal team to file the preliminary objections on the said date. (NewsWire)
