The Colombo Magistrate’s Court ordered the committee of specialist doctors appointed to inquire into the cause of death of late businessman Dinesh Schaffter, to look into whether permission can be granted for the cremation of his remains and to inform the court.

The postmortem examination report related to the case was taken up before Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya today (09).

Appearing on behalf of the deceased’s family, President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne stated before the court that his client’s wish was to cremate the remains of Mr. Schaffter.

Further, the President’s Counsel mentioned that however, if the court orders for the late businessman’s remains to be buried, his wife has allocated a plot from the cemetery belonging to the "Church of England" denomination located at the Jawatte Public Cemetery in Colombo.

The Additional Magistrate who took this request into consideration, ordered to submit the affidavits of the family members to the court in relation to that request, and to take measures to confirm the relevant facts.

In addition, the Colombo Magistrate’s court ordered the Chair of the five-member specialist doctors’ committee, appointed by the court to compile a report on this suspicious death, Prof Asela Mendis to present facts to the court regarding whether the deceased businessman’s remains are further required for the investigation purposes, and whether cremation can be permitted.

Nevertheless, the additional magistrate further stated that the five-member specialist doctors’ committee has informed the court that the report indicating the cause of death of late businessman Schaffter cannot be submitted until his remains are released.

The case was subsequently ordered to be recalled on October 16, 2023.