The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Monday (16) ordered that a lawyer practicing in Kekirawa be removed from the roll of attorneys after finding her guilty of violating professional ethics.

The court also convicted the lawyer of contempt of court for violating a previous order issued in relation to the same matter. She was sentenced to one year in prison, which was suspended for five years.

In addition, the court imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000, with a further six-month jail term to be imposed if the fine is not paid.

The order was delivered by Supreme Court Justice Yasantha Kodagoda with the concurrence of Justices Arjuna Obeyesekere and Priyantha Fernando.

The charges were filed by the Attorney General’s Department after the lawyer was accused of removing and damaging two pages of a case file during proceedings at the Kekirawa Magistrate’s Court on July 27, 2023.

The Supreme Court had earlier issued an interim order preventing the lawyer from practicing law until the inquiry into the allegations was concluded.

However, a complaint was later filed alleging that the lawyer had continued to engage in legal practice despite the court order, prompting the Attorney General to file additional charges of contempt of court.

Although the respondent initially pleaded not guilty, she later admitted to the charges during the proceedings.

In its ruling, the three-judge bench said the conduct amounted to a serious violation of the professional ethics expected of attorneys and ordered the Registrar of the Supreme Court to remove her name from the roll of attorneys.

The court also directed that the decision be communicated to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and the Kekirawa District Judge.

The court further ordered the respondent to appear before the Police Criminal Records Division to provide fingerprints. (Newswire)

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A female attorney-at-law has been arrested for chewing and destroying documents related to a case pending before the Kekirawa District Magistrate’s Court, it was reported.

According to Daily Mirror, the lawyer had destroyed two documents that were included in the court registry in relation to a land case.

The Police stated that the female lawyer who was handling the case proceedings had torn off two documents from the file related to the case and had chewed on them inside the court.

Court officials who were on duty at the archives had notified the court registrar after which the lawyer was taken into custody by the Kekirawa Police.

Police officers on court duty had examined the lawyer during which they had found some pieces of the documents she had destroyed by chewing.

The lawyer will be produced before the Kekirawa Magistrate’s Court today (July 28). (NewsWire)

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A 35-year-old woman has been found hacked to death inside a house in the Sekkupitiya area in Kekirawa last night, the Police stated. 

According to the Police, the woman who is a resident of Akurana was found to have been hacked to death using a sharp object.

Investigations have revealed that the woman was found dead inside a room in the house by her husband. 

The Police stated that the victim had lived in a house in Kekirawa along with her husband and child, but had slept in a separate room last night.

The victim’s husband had found her dead inside the room early this morning after which he had informed the Police.

No information has been ascertained on the cause of death or suspects involved in the attack, while the Kekirawa Police has launched an investigation. (NewsWire)

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