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No obstacle for AG to indict Tiran Alles in High Court: SC
View(s):The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday pronounced there was no obstacle for the Attorney General (AG) to file indictments against businessman and former MP Tiran Alles in the High Court (HC). The pronouncement was made consequent to a clarification sought on the Interim Order (IO) issued by the Supreme Court regarding the former MP.
A 3-Judge Bench of the SC was unanimous that its IO did not bar the AG from filing indictments against Mr. Alles, based on findings of the investigation.
In August, the AG filed indictments in the HC against four accused including Tiran Alles and one time LTTE fundraiser Emil Kanthan, in connection with a Rs 200 million fraud that had allegedly taken place at the Reconstruction and Development Agency (RADA) in 2006.
When the case came up before the HC, Mr Alles’ Counsel raised preliminary objections, stating the Court cannot serve indictments against the 1st accused, as there is an IO by the SC. The IO was issued after Mr. Alles filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the SC seeking an order to prevent him from being arrested over the allegations. The SC subsequently issued an IO directing that the ‘status quo’ should remain until the FR petition is finished.
On August 24, Colombo HC Judge Kusala Sarojani Werawardena decided to seek a clarification from the SC regarding the IO, following objections raised by Mr. Alles’ Counsel.