The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has ordered that the case against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his former Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake be recalled on 11 November, when the Attorney General’s advice is expected to be presented, NewsFirst reported after Wednesday’s hearing.
Separately, a security officer attached to Wickremesinghe’s detail was admitted to hospital the same day after an alleged assault outside the court, reported below.
The case was listed for recall before Magistrate Pasan Amarasena, with the Attorney General’s position on whether to file indictments the central question, Hiru News reported ahead of the sitting.
The proceedings concern allegations that public funds were spent on a September 2023 trip to London presented as an official visit, during which Wickremesinghe attended a ceremony honouring his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, at the University of Wolverhampton. He and Ekanayake are both out on bail.
What happened in court
Senior State Counsel Samadhari Piyasena, appearing for the Attorney General, told the court that investigations had been completed and that the relevant extracts had been forwarded to the Attorney General. She asked for a date on which to inform the court of the Attorney General’s position.
The magistrate set 11 November and directed the State Counsel to convey that position on the day.
This is the second time the question has been carried forward rather than answered. The court fixed 30 September precisely so the Attorney General’s decision could be conveyed; the department has now had a further six weeks.
How the case reached today
The sequence is a matter of record in earlier reporting. When the case was taken up on 29 April, the magistrate said there was sufficient basis to file indictments and pressed for action, warning that “when criminal investigations are delayed, the value of those investigations is diminished.”
On 8 July the Criminal Investigation Department told the court that its investigation was complete and that the relevant extracts had been forwarded to the Attorney General. A state counsel asked for a date to convey the Attorney General’s position, and the court fixed 30 September.
By mid-August, indictments had still not been filed and the Attorney General’s Department said the file remained under review. Investigators had earlier travelled to Britain and sought records through mutual legal assistance; UK government records listing official visits by foreign leaders carry no entry for Wickremesinghe over 22–23 September 2023.
Incident outside court
A security officer attached to Wickremesinghe’s security detail was admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo on Wednesday after allegedly being struck on the head with a camera by a television cameraman, the Daily Mirror reported.
Sources in the former President’s office told the paper that the officer lodged a complaint with Slave Island Police before being admitted. The incident is said to have occurred near the gate of the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court as Wickremesinghe was leaving after the hearing.
The Daily Mirror does not name the officer or the cameraman, identify the broadcaster, report the extent of the injury, or say whether any arrest has followed. No account from the cameraman or from any media organisation had been published at the time of writing, and the allegation is untested.
Two points where Hiru’s account differed — one now settled
Hiru’s pre-hearing report stated the case was filed by the Bribery Commission and put the loss at “over Rs. 15 million.”
On the figure, NewsFirst’s report of the hearing puts the alleged misuse at Rs. 16.6 million, matching prior reporting across multiple outlets and settling the point against Hiru.
On the attribution, Hiru’s own opening sentence contradicted its later text by describing the case as “filed by the Criminal Investigation Department.” NewsFirst does not name the filing agency at all, so this point is not resolved. We continue to use the CID attribution, which prior reporting across multiple outlets is consistent on, and which matches the CID’s own statement to the court on 8 July that its investigation was complete.
Ada Derana also carried the story but remains unreachable from our infrastructure.
