BY Dinitha Rathnayake
An appeal has been filed against the judgement of the Colombo High Court (HC) against Minister of Urban Development and Housing Prasanna Ranatunga on Monday (6).
Attorney-at-Law (AAL) Mary Dickman, on behalf of Ranatunga, handed over the appeal to the Registrar of the HC yesterday (7), requesting that the relevant case file be referred to the Court of Appeal (CA).
Ranatunga was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment (RI), suspended for five years, after he was found guilty of one of the charges in a case filed for threatening a businessman when he was Chief Minister of the Western Province.
The Colombo HC also imposed a fine of Rs. 25 million on Ranatunga and ordered him to pay Rs. 1 million as compensation. If Ranatunga fails to pay the Rs. 25 million fine, nine more months will be added to the sentence. If Ranatunga fails to pay the Rs. 1 million compensation, three more months will be added to the sentence.
Ranatunga’s wife and another accused who was also charged in the case were acquitted and released from all charges by the Colombo HC Judge Manjula Thilakarathne.
They were accused of threatening a businessman named G. Mendis and demanding Rs. 64 million to evict unauthorised occupants of a land in the Meethotamulla area in Kolonnawa and refill the land. The Attorney General (AG) filed the case on 15 individual counts.
Ranatunga also currently serves as Chief Government Whip.
Ranatunga appeals HC verdict to CA
08 Jun 2022
Ranatunga appeals HC verdict to CA
08 Jun 2022