Decision on Keheliya’s bail appeal further deferred

The Court of Appeal has further deferred the decision regarding the petition filed by former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, seeking an order to invalidate the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court’s order remanding him in custody until the end of the trial over the alleged import of substandard medicine.

The relevant decision was scheduled to be delivered today (04).

However, the Appeals Court judge bench comprising the President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Shashi Mahendran ordered the relevant decision on whether to grant leave to proceed with the petition to be issued on October 03, 2024.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Rambukwella on 02 February over his alleged complicity in the procurement of substandard IVIG vials.

The arrest came hot on the heels of pressure from civil society activists and health sector trade unionists, who called for the immediate apprehension of the lawmaker.

In October 2023, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) revealed that forged documents were found to have been submitted for Customs clearance to procure a batch of vials containing human immunoglobulin, an antibody produced by blood plasma cells, which later failed the quality tests.