The Court of Appeal has ordered that a petition filed by imprisoned former Minister Nalin Fernando, seeking the dismissal of an indictment served against him by the Attorney General in connection with the “carrom board case,” be called on June 17 for the verification of facts.

The petition was taken up today (01) before a Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices P. Kumararatnam and Pradeep Hettiarachchi, said Ada Derana reporter.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry informed the court that a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court had previously sentenced his client to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him in a case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in relation to the same incident.

The President’s Counsel pointed out that the Attorney General had subsequently filed another case based on the same allegations, arguing that prosecuting an individual twice for the same offence is contrary to the law.

He further submitted that although his client had raised preliminary objections during the High Court proceedings, those objections had been rejected by the trial judge.

Accordingly, the petition seeks a declaration that the indictment filed by the Attorney General against the petitioner is unlawful.

After considering the submissions made by counsel, the Court of Appeal ordered that the petition be called on June 17 for the verification of facts.

The original case was filed by CIABOC, alleging that during the 2015 Presidential Election campaign period, two former ministers imported 14,000 carrom boards and 1,000 checkers boards through Lanka Sathosa and distributed them among campaign offices of then-presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa, thereby causing a loss exceeding Rs. 53 million to the State.