The Court of Appeal has rejected revision applications filed by three individuals, including former Minister of Cooperative and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando, and ordered that the High Court cases against them continue.
The allegations concern the misuse of employees of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) for non‑official duties, with salaries and overtime allowances paid from CWE funds, causing losses of nearly Rs. 60 million to the Government.
Indictments were filed in 2022 before the Colombo High Court against Fernando, former CWE Chairman Eraj Fernando, and Acting Director Mohideen Mohamed Zakeer, under Section 70 of the Bribery Act.
The five‑judge bench, comprising Justice P. Kumaratnam, Justice D. Thotawatta, Justice K.M.S. Disanayake, Justice K.P.E. Fernando, and Justice Annalingam Premashankar, delivered its ruling on Tuesday (04).
The accused had challenged the indictments on grounds including claims that investigations were initiated without full Commission approval, and that the Bribery (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 2018 was being applied retrospectively to acts said to have occurred before its enactment.
In one case (HC/165/2022), the High Court had accepted preliminary objections and released the accused, prompting the Commission to file a revision application 14/77/2023. In other cases, objections were rejected, leading the accused to file multiple revision applications.
After considering all applications together, the Court of Appeal allowed the Commission’s revision application, set aside the High Court order releasing the accused in HC/165/2022, and rejected all revision applications filed by the accused, directing that the High Court trials proceed. (Newswire)
