By Shehan Chamika Silva
Former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Avant Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadipathi and five others were today granted bail when they were produced in Court on corruption charges in connection with Avant-Garde Maritime Services.
Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya released each of them on a cash bail of Rs.200,000 with two sureties of Rs.10 million each and banned them from travelling abroad.
The Bribery Commission which filed the charges said the suspects had committed an offence by permitting the Avant-Garde Maritime Services to operate a floating armoury causing a Rs.11.4 billion financial lost to the Government.
The other five suspects are Rtd. Maj. Gen. Palitha Fernando, Karunaratne Bandara Adhikari and former navy commanders Somathilaka Dissanayake, Jayanath Colambage and Jayantha Perera.
The suspect Sujatha Damayanthi was not present in court today and as such the bail order had not applied to her.
Romesh de Silva PC, who appeared for Mr. Rajapaksa said Section 78(1) of the Bribery Act 1954 states that before a complaint is referred to a Magistrate in a bribery case the consent certificate or the sanction authorized by the Bribery Commission should be visible in court as material to Convince the Magistrate on the commission’s desire to file the case.
He said in this instance there was no such certificate so the summons issued earlier on the suspects should be recalled because of the illegality in the process.
The seven suspects appeared in court on being noticed to do so.
However, Senior State Counsel Janaka Bandara said Section 11 of the Bribery Commission Act passed in 1994 superseded the Section 78(1) of the Act of 1954.
He said according to the new law the Bribery Commission's Director General could forward a complaint to a Magistrate with the consent of the Bribery Commission.
On the basis of the submissions made by the two parties, the Chief Magistrate in formed the prosecution and the defence to file their views in writing in connection with the preliminary objection.
Defence counsel Romesh de Silva PC asked court not to impose travel ban on his client because he was hoping to travel abroad soon.
However, the prosecution sought cCourt to follow the standard procedure by releasing them on bail and then on the next date to consider permission to travel abroad.
The defence counsel also requested court to keep his client in court without admitting to the remand cell at the court premises until the bail conditions were fulfilled. But the Magistrate refused to do so.
The permission to travel abroad was to be considered on October 3 while the case was postponed for December 1.
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