Pohottuwa lawyer Alex, who created 26 fake land deeds, jailed for 16 years

A lawyer, a current MP of Pohottuwa (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna), and his manager were found guilty of one of the offenses among the charges of fraudulently preparing 26 land deeds. The lawyer, Warnakulasuriya Alex Nishantha, is also a current MP of Pohottuwa and this local council member. The Chilaw High Court has sentenced them to sixteen years of rigorous imprisonment. 

This is in connection with the fraudulent preparation of 26 deeds and the sale of two plots of land belonging to the complainant in the Waikkal area, measuring 03 acres, 02 roods, and 34 perches.

Chilaw High Court Judge Mrs. Nayomi Wickremesinghe announced this verdict yesterday (18), and the sentences were imposed on lawyer Warnakulasuriya Alex Nishantha Fernando, who is also a current member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in the Wennappuwa Pradeshiya Sabha, and his manager, Rampati Dewage Saman Kumara.

Delivering a verdict in one of the 26 cases being heard on the charge of preparing 26 fraudulent deeds and selling land, the Chilaw High Court sentenced the lawyer, who is the Puttalam District President of the Pohottuwa Lawyers' Association, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

Lawyer Alex Nishantha Fernando was sentenced yesterday (18) by Chilaw High Court Judge Nayomi Wickremesinghe. The complaint related to this case against lawyer Fernando, who was a candidate for a parliamentary seat from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in the 2024 parliamentary election, was filed on June 07, 2011. It stated that two plots of land, measuring 03 acres, 02 roods, and 24 perches, were sold by preparing fraudulent deeds.

After investigations were conducted by the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department, the Attorney General filed charges against lawyer Alex Nishantha Fernando and Rampatidewage Saman Kumara before the Chilaw High Court in 2021. Delivering the verdict in the case, the High Court found the first accused, Saman Kumara, guilty of 03 charges and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment, also ordering him to pay Rs. 800,000 as compensation to the complainant. The High Court also found the second accused, lawyer Alex Nishantha Fernando, guilty of 03 charges and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment, a fine of Rs. 100,000, and Rs. 800,000 as compensation.

25 more cases of preparing fraudulent deeds against this lawyer are currently being heard. He is the President of the Puttalam District Lawyers' Association of the Podujana Peramuna. The Attorney General had filed charges against them under five counts in connection with an alleged fraud committed on or about March 03, 2009. The judge concluded that the charges of deceiving Mrs. Karunarachchige Susanna, the main witness for the prosecution, by claiming that a person named Warnakulasuriya John Sarath Kumara Tissera would transfer land through a sale, and fraudulently preparing a freehold deed and aiding and abetting it, were proven beyond reasonable doubt. The court also ordered that the sixteen-year prison sentence imposed on the defendants be implemented to run concurrently within a period of ten years.

In addition to the imprisonment, each defendant was ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 150,000, failing which an additional fourteen months of simple imprisonment would be imposed. Furthermore, the defendants were ordered to pay Rs. 800,000 each as compensation to Mrs. Susanna, who was defrauded, and if they fail to pay this amount, they would be subject to an additional twelve months of imprisonment each.

During this trial, Senior State Counsel Mr. Oswald Perera pointed out to the court that this crime, systematically committed by a lawyer, has become a major threat to the entire North Western Province. He requested severe penalties to serve as a precedent for other lawyers, as many incidents of preparing and selling such fraudulent deeds are reported from that province. However, the lawyers appearing for the accused lawyer requested the court for a lenient sentence, stating that their client is a father of three children, two of whom are studying law. Senior State Counsel Mr. Padmal Weerasinghe and Mr. Kulana Kothalawala also appeared for this case along with Senior State Counsel Mr. Oswald Perera. President's Counsel Mr. Dilan Rathnayake, along with lawyer Mr. Nipun Navaratne, appeared for the aggrieved party, and lawyers Mr. Sujith Priyankara and Mr. Padmakumara Randeniya appeared for the first and second defendants respectively.