Gota and crowd freed from Avant Garde case

Gota and crowd freed from Avant Garde case

The case filed by bribery commission charging former secretary of defence Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and eight accused for having caused government a loss of Rs. 11.4 billion in having permitted to maintain a floating armoury for Avant Garde Maritime Services on the sea coast close to the port of Galle during the past regime was heard today the 23rd and the magistrate ordered that all
accused be released from charges levelled against them. 

On the occasion when this case was called last 20th by Colombo chief magistrate, attorneys who appeared on behalf of Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa stated that the manner in which the bribery commission has filed action in this case is against the law according to appeal courts and therefore as ordered by appeal courts Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa be released from this case. What this courts had stated was that the order of appeal court had not been received till that date. As written approval to file action in this case was not granted by commissioners of bribery commission, it was mentioned that magistrate court does not have powers to inquire into that case. 

Subsequently, Colombo magistrate court was ordered and instructed to release Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa from the case because of the reason that of the petition filed by Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa requesting that he be exonerated from all charges by invalidating orders issued by Colombo magistrate court and Colombo high court saying that the procedure adopted by the bribery commission is contradictory to law. 

Among the defendants of the case were Jayantha Perera, Jayanath Colombage and Somathillaka Dissanayaka the former navy commanders. Apart from them, the two defendants, former retired army generals Palitha Fernando and B. Egodawela too are included. On the grounds that the case was not properly filed, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and eight accused were thus released from the charges concerned.