Finance Secretary’s COPE no-show could trigger legal action, Free Lawyers Organization warns

The Free Lawyers Association states that Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, Dr. Harsha de Silva, has the authority to take action through parliamentary mechanisms if the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, fails to appear before Parliament.

Issuing a statement on behalf of the organization, former Governor Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon noted that the Committee on Public Finance was established under Parliamentary Standing Order 121, passed in 2022. He further stated that provisions exist under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act to penalize any individual who violates parliamentary standing orders.

Accordingly, the committee chairman has the authority to summon any individual, and if such a summons is ignored, actions and penalties can be imposed under the Powers and Privileges Act. 

Tennakoon emphasized that such offenses may be punishable either by Parliament or by the Supreme Court.

He added that penalties may include imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, a fine, or both.

Therefore, any individual summoned by the Committee on Public Finance, under the chairmanship of Dr. Harsha de Silva, who fails to appear, may be subject to legal action under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act.

The statement also noted that no previous government in history has challenged parliamentary financial accountability or undermined the authority of parliamentary committees in this manner.

Tennakoon further stressed that if an individual fails to appear despite being summoned, the committee chairman must either enforce penalties or resign in order to uphold the dignity and integrity of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Dr. Harsha de Silva stated yesterday (29) that he had been informed that Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma would not be appearing before the Committee on Public Finance.

The Finance Ministry Secretary had been summoned to appear before the committee today (30) to provide explanations regarding an incident in which USD 2.5 million held in the Treasury for foreign debt repayment was allegedly transferred to an external party.

However, Dr. Suriyapperuma informed the chairman via letter that he would be unable to attend the committee session today.

Additionally, Free Lawyers Organization member Maithri Gunaratne expressed a lack of confidence in the ongoing investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into the incident.

Speaking on a TV Derana program aired last night (29), Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne stated that no direct conclusion has yet been reached regarding the involvement of a hacker. 

He noted that further investigations are required, adding that the incident may have occurred due to an email sent from a domain closely resembling that of a foreign institution, using similar names and email formats, indicating possible negligence.

Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe also stated that if there are corrupt individuals within the current government, legal action will be taken against them regardless of status.