The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday (23) sentenced Controller General (CG) of Immigration and Emigration Harsha Ilukpitiya to two years of imprisonment after being found guilty of contempt of court.

The verdict was pronounced by President’s Counsel (PC) and Justice Yasantha Kodagoda, with the concurrence of Justices Janak De Silva and Arjuna Obeyesekere.

While delivering the ruling, Justice Kodagoda PC stated that Ilukpitiya had committed a serious act of contempt against the Judiciary through his actions.

During the tenure of the previous Government, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal to outsource the electronic visa issuance process to two private companies. However, the SC later issued an interim injunction suspending the move and ordered the resumption of the previous visa issuance procedure. 

Despite this Court order, Ilukpitiya allegedly failed to comply with the injunction and continued to act contrary to the Court’s directive. As a result, charges were filed against him for contempt of court. The Court determined that his actions willfully disregarded the authority of the SC, warranting the sentence imposed.