The Court of Appeal today (21) ordered that a petition filed by former Secretary of the Ministry of Sports retired Major General Nanda Mallawarachchi, be taken up for consideration on July 28. The petitioner requests that the indictment filed against him before the Colombo High Court by the Attorney General be nullified.

The charges are in relation to the alleged misuse of state funds during the period leading up to the 2015 Presidential Election by purchasing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 checkers (Daam) boards for political purposes, which were then distributed through the political offices of the then-presidential candidate, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The petition was taken up today before the Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Rohana Abeysuriya and Priyantha Fernando.

During today’s proceedings, the bench ordered the petition to be called again on July 28 to confirm the related matters.

The petition, filed through Attorney-at-Law Amila Kumara, states that the petitioner had been named as a witness in a case previously filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) before the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar.

The petitioner claims to have provided testimony before the High Court regarding that case.

Despite this, the petitioner states that the Attorney General has now decided to name him as an accused in the case related to the same incident, which he argues is entirely unlawful.

Accordingly, the petitioner requests the Court of Appeal to issue a writ order nullifying the charges filed against him before the Colombo High Court.