Arjun Aloysius and Kasun Palisena seek bail

By T. Farook Thajudeen 

Perpetual Treasuries owner Arjun Aloysius and CEO Kasun Palisena, who were remanded till 2 March by the Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne, sought bail from the Colombo High Court yesterday. 

The suspects’ instructing Attorney Sanath Wijewardena yesterday filed two bail applications before the High Court, against the order made by the Fort Magistrate on 16 February to remand the two suspects Arjun Aloysius and Kasun Palisena till 2 March. 

The second and third respondent suspects by their application had disputed the order made by the Fort Magistrate on 16 February in case No B/8266/2018, alleging that the magistrate’s order to remand the two suspects was prima facially faulty and was also baseless. 

Hence the petitions move to set aside the order made by Fort Magistrate and to nullify that order by an interim order of the High Court. The petitioners claim that the two suspects were the breadwinners of their families. They were also having young children and their being in remand had psychologically affected the children’s state of mind. 

The petitions claim that the suspects were undergoing treatment for their illnesses thus to consider these points and release them on bail. 

The petitioners had cited the OIC Financial Investigation Unit 3 of the CID, the Director of the CID and the Attorney General has been named as respondents for the petition. The court fixed for 28 February to support the bail applications by the petitioner’s counsel. 

On 16 February, Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne rejected the bail applications filed on behalf of the owner of Perpetual Treasuries Limited Arjun Aloysius and its CEO Kasun Palisena and they were further remanded till 2 March.