Colombo High Court Judge Damith Totawatte, yesterday (20) directed police to fingerprint ex-SLFP lawmaker, Sarana Gunaw-ardena, before granting him bail.
The Judge released former Gampaha District MP Gunawardena on Rs 30,000 cash bail and two sureties of Rs 500,000 each.
Judge Totawatte said that one of the sureties should be a relative of the former MP.
The Judge stressed that the sureties should pledge that they would produce the suspect in court when the court orders the sureties to do so. Judge Totawatte further emphasized that the sureties should not have any criminal cases against them in any court of law.
The corruption case was filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against the accused while being the Chairman of the Development Lotteries Board for deliberately causing losses to the State as a result of his failure to follow the protocol and the necessary procedures adopted by the Development Lotteries Board when hiring vehicles to the Board.
The Court postponed the case to March 23, 2023. Counsel Sajeewa Anthony of the Bribery Commission appeared for the prosecution, while Counsel Danaraj Samarakoon, on the instructions of Senior Counsel, Anil Silva, PC, appeared for the accused.