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Complaint against PCoI on political victimisation: Bribery Comm. to probe PCoI  

11 Apr 2021

  • Complainant lawyers await SC response 

  The Commission to Investigate into Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has launched an investigation into the complaint lodged by a group of lawyers against the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) which probed incidents of political victimisation that had allegedly taken place during the tenure of the previous United National Front (UNF)-led Government.  Responding to the complaint lodged on 9 March by three Attorneys-at-Law, Senaka Perera, Namal Rajapaksha, and Thambiah Jeyaratnarajah, the CIABOC has informed the complainants in writing that the Commission has decided to launch an investigation into the said complaint.  The letter dated 17 March, signed by the Secretary to the CIABOC, as per the directions of the CIABOC, has stated that the decision was taken following the consideration of the complaint.  Last month, Attorneys Perera, Rajapaksha, Jeyaratnarajah, and Achala Seneviratne had also filed a petition with Chief Justice (CJ) Jayantha Jayasuriya (PC) requesting the latter and the Supreme Court (SC) to examine whether the recommendations of the said PCoI were in contempt of the SC.  They have also requested that the CJ pay attention to the recommendation by the PCoI that former parliamentarian R. Duminda Silva, presently on death row for murder, and whose conviction was upheld by the SC, be acquitted from all charges against him, and the recommendation that the Attorney General (AG) request that a full bench of the SC conduct a judicial review of the death sentence passed on Silva. The lawyers have pointed out that if a convict is not satisfied with a judgment delivered against him, he could request for a fuller bench to hear his case, but that a third party cannot request a review of the verdict.  The petitioners have also claimed that the PCoI, with its recommendations, has caused an affront to the dignity of the Judiciary, its independence, and the trust reposed in it by the people.  When contacted, Perera told The Sunday Morning that they received a response from the CIABOC, as the latter has informed that they would launch an investigation in this regard. “Now, we’re waiting for a response from the SC,” Perera added.   


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