The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order quashing the Bribery Commission Director General’s decision to institute legal proceedings against Court of Appeal Judge, Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.
In his petition, BASL President U.R. de Silva PC has cited members of Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) including its Director General Sarath Jayamanna PC, Chairman T.B. Weerasuriya, CIABOC members Justice W.L.R. Silva and Neville Guruge, Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz and Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara as respondents.
On January 18, the Bribery Commission filed a corruption case in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court against former Chief Justice and former Attorney General Mohan Peiris, Court of Appeal Judge A.H.M.D. Nawaz and former Secretary to the Ministry M.M.C. Ferdinando.
This is over an allegation that they conferred a wrongful or unlawful benefit, and favour or advantage on the perpetrators who had been accused of misappropriating funds belonging to Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited (LECO).
Taking into consideration the facts, Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara had issued summons on the three accused to be present in Court on March 8.
The petitioner stated that he learnt from newspapers that an application had been filed in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court regarding inter alia Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz.
BASL President U.R. de Silva, in his petition, said that upon perusal of the proceedings filed before the Magistrate’s Court, it was apparent to him that no offence in terms of the Bribery Act is disclosed against Justice Nawaz. He further said upon perusal of the proceedings filed before the Magistrate’s Court it was evident that the identity of the complainant, if any, is undisclosed.
The BASL President further said the proceedings before the Magistrate’s Court cannot be entertained or continued in that there has been no written sanction of the CIBOC.
He stated that the gravamen of the purported allegation made is that Justice Nawaz provided a legal opinion as a Deputy Solicitor General at the Attorney General’s Department in or around December 2010 to confer a wrongful or unlawful benefit or advantage on another person or knowing that the said legal opinion would cause a wrongful or unlawful benefit or advantage to another person.
The BASL President said ex facie a legal opinion cannot result in a wrongful or unlawful benefit. He further maintained that the question of conferring a wrongful or unlawful benefit or not depends on the correctness of the legal opinion.
He said ex facie no wrongful or unlawful benefit could have been caused to any person such as certain undisclosed directors of the Lanka Electricity Company Pvt Ltd and some other persons in that the decision to prosecute is in the hands of those responsible for the prosecution who are not bound by an opinion of the Attorney General.
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