AG's Dept. informs SOC that 10,000 indictments to be filed by December

The Attorney General (AG)'s Department has informed that Parliament Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Anti-Corruption and Media that there would be a total of 10,000 indictments filed by the end of this year.

Issuing a statement, the Parliament's Communication Department said that the AG's Department had informed the SOC, during a hearing on Wednesday (Oct 23), that it has already filed 7800 indictments over several cases within the first eight months of this year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Mass Media has informed the SOC that a new law is to be submitted for cabinet approval on issuing licences for private television and radio stations.

The SOC had also decided to review the Anti-Corruption Bill at the Committee during the next hearing, the statement said.

Further, the committee had proposed to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 11 to 15, suggesting that court proceedings should be expedited.

Meanwhile, SOC Chairman Dr. Jayamapathi Wickramaratne informed the relevant parties to implement a pilot project to automate certain areas in the judicial sector, by early 2020.