President’s Counsel Ali Sabry, appearing for remanded Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, has urged the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court to grant bail to his client on compassionate grounds, citing the serious health conditions of his parents, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
According to court reports, Sabry made the submissions when a motion filed on behalf of Namal Rajapaksa in connection with the Krrish transaction case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.
Sabry told the court that Namal’s 81-year-old father had recently returned home after being hospitalised due to severe depression, while his mother was suffering from a serious heart condition.
He said Shiranthi Rajapaksa was hospitalised and scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
The lawyer argued that Namal, as the eldest son, had a responsibility to care for his parents and urged the court to consider their health conditions as exceptional grounds for bail.
Sabry also cited the constitutional presumption of innocence and argued that everyone should be treated equally before the law.
He questioned why a government minister facing a case filed by the Bribery Commission had not been produced before a Magistrate’s Court.
Referring to compassionate considerations in other cases, Sabry noted that the government had cared for the parents of former LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran following his death.
He argued that the circumstances involving Namal’s parents justified his release on bail, adding that presenting more exceptional circumstances would require inventing them.
Meanwhile, the Bribery Commission informed the court that it had not received the relevant documents concerning the fresh bail application and requested time to present its position.
The commission also rejected allegations of unequal treatment, maintaining that it applied the law equally to everyone.
After considering the submissions, the Chief Magistrate directed the Bribery Commission to present its position on the fresh bail application on Wednesday (28).
Namal Rajapaksa remains in remand custody in connection with the Krrish transaction case.
Separately, the court ordered prison authorities to produce him before the Colombo Permanent Trial-at-Bar on October 28 in connection with the SriLankan Airlines Airbus transaction case, in which 24 charges have been filed against the accused. (Newswire)