Court grants bail to Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita

Former Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s former Director General Anusha Palpita were yesterday released on bail by Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga - Pic by Eshan Fernando

The Colombo High Court yesterday granted bail to the two high-profile state officials of the former Government convicted of misusing state money.

Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga released former President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and the former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Anusha Palpita on cash bail of Rs.100,000 with three sureties of Rs. 1 million each.

The judge also ordered to impound their passports.

The court earlier this month sentenced the two senior officials of the previous Government to three years of rigorous imprisonment each after they were found guilty of misappropriating Rs. 650 million of TRC funds and using it to distribute ‘sil redi’ for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2015 presidential election campaign.

Weeratunga and Palpita filed an appeal contesting the High Court verdict on the trial and the counsel representing the duo requested the court to release the two defendants on bail until the appeal was heard and a ruling was given.

Considering the counsel’s request, Judge Gihan Kulatunga on 14 September issued notice to the Attorney General to appear before the court on 20 September to state his position on the defendants’ appeal.