CIABOC’s request for arrest warrant also truned down

Colombo Chief Magistrate, Thanuja Lakmali Jayatunga, yesterday (18) rejected an anticipatory bail application filed on behalf of former Fisheries and Health Minister, Rajitha Senaratne. The court held that sufficient grounds had not been presented to justify the request.

The bail application was submitted by President’s Counsel, Maithri Gunaratne, who argued that his client was facing imminent arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged financial losses caused during his tenure as Fisheries Minister.

Senaratne is accused of awarding a sand mining project, at the Kirinda fisheries harbour, to a Korean company, allegedly causing the state a loss exceeding Rs. 200 million.

Investigators informed court that Senaratne had failed to appear before the Commission on six separate occasions, despite being summoned for a statement. Though he submitted letters claiming he was undergoing medical treatment, officers noted that the documents were not certified medical reports, but rather prescriptions, lacking dates, or identifying details.

The court also rejected the CIABOC’s request for an arrest warrant, stating that the application did not meet the necessary legal thresholds.