SC halts unlawful Rs. 150 Mn payment linked to former Minister Bandula G

The Supreme Court has suspended the payment of Rs. 150 million to a construction company that was arranged unlawfully, allegedly under the instruction of Minister Bandula Gunawardhana. 

Despite the ‘Maga Neguma’ construction company, operating under the Road Development Authority (RDA), having already settled the amount owed to the ‘2K’ construction company, an additional 150 million rupees was approved by the former minister in charge and the then secretary of the ministry, Ranjith Rubasinghe. 

Both ‘Maga Neguma’ and the RDA’s board opposed the payment, leading to the RDA chairman’s removal and the board’s dissolution by Mr. Rubasinghe, now acting chairman.

Mahesh Wickrama, Executive Director of ‘Maga Neguma’, filed a fundamental rights petition against the board’s dissolution, which he claimed was tied to the board’s objection to the illegal payment.

On Tuesday (24), a three-member Supreme Court bench ordered the suspension of the payment until the next hearing in March 2025 and instructed that current conditions remain unchanged. 

Attorney-at-Law Kanishka Witharana represented the petitioners in court.