Sripathy home for Wesak

COLOMBO: Former Minister and Gampaha District Parliamentarian Sripathy Sooriyaarachchi was enlarged on bail by the Avissawela High Court Monday after nearly one and half months in remand custody. He was remanded by the Kaduwela Magistrate on March 17 after the CID took him into custody on charges of misusing State Property. Avissawela High Court Judge C. M. N. D. de Silva ordered Sooriyaarachchi to furnish Rs 100,000 cash bail and Rs 250,000 personal bail.
The CID informed Court that the suspect failed to return vehicle No.GA 3040 that belonged to the Post and Telecommunications Department that was used by him.
The High Court Judge in a tough release order said he was shocked and puzzled over the manner in which the Kaduwela Magistrate had remanded a person of high standing for more than a month.
In his order Silva directed Sooriyaarachchi to report at the CID office on the last Sunday of every month.
Sooriyaarachchi was released on bail after he filed a revision petition challenging the Kaduwela Magistrate’s March 20 order refusing him bail.
The High Court Judge in his order observed there was no sufficient basis in the CID reports for a case against Sooriyaarachchi and expressed shock over the manner the ex-minister was remanded for more than a month.
“It is evident that the Kaduwela Additional Magistrate had not looked into the material forwarded by the police because the material was not sufficient to charge the suspect. When the police files a report against a person seeking an order to remand him, the court has a responsibility to carefully examine it. In this case the court should have considered it more carefully considering the standing of the person. When a suspect is remanded he is deprived of his right to be a free person and it is the responsibility of the court to be careful before ordering the remand of a person just going by police reports, “the High Court Judge said.
In a twenty six page order the High Court judge having examined the case as a whole it was evident that Sooriyaarachchi had not committed an offence to remand him.
“It is a puzzle how the Kaduwela Additional Magistrate came to a conclusion that there is evidence to charge him when there are so many special circumstances to grant him bail. It is evident that the Magistrate had not taken a proper decision,” the High Court judge said.
Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetti, Daya de Mel and Jayantha Goonaratne appeared for the petitioner while State Counsel Menaka Wijesundera and Nayana Seneviratne represented the state.
Prior to his being taken into custody, President Mahinda Rajapaksa sacked Minister Sooriyaarachchi along with two other ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Bandaranaike. However, Bandaranaike was reinstated while Messrs Sooriyarachi and Samaraweera were not.
Meanwhile, Sooriyaarachchi has been served with a show cause notice by the SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena for alleged infringement of party discipline.