Supreme Court orders to pay 275 million rupees to Keheliya

The Supreme Court, ruling that the fundamental rights of the public were violated in the procurement of health supplies under the Indian credit line scheme implemented in 2022, today (27) ordered five individuals, including former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, to pay 275 million rupees as compensation to the government. This order was issued by a three-member bench chaired by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, while delivering the verdict on a fundamental rights petition filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka and two other parties.

The basis of this case is the procurement of medical supplies from an unregistered company, completely disregarding the government's standard procurement process and guidelines. The court determined that this irregularity violated the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution, and strongly emphasized that the respondents must pay this compensation amount from their personal wealth.

According to the court order, former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella must pay 75 million rupees, while former Secretary to the Ministry of Health Janaka Chandraguptha, former Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Professor S.D. Jayaratne, its former Chief Executive Officer Dr. Wijith Gunasekara, and former Director of the Medical Supplies Division Dr. Thusitha Sudarshana must each pay 50 million rupees to the government as compensation.

During this trial, numerous widespread irregularities in the procurement of medical supplies during the relevant period were highlighted. In addition, several separate criminal cases are already pending against them in the Colombo High Court concerning the import of substandard drugs, including the immunoglobulin fraud. The Supreme Court issued this historic order today, in addition to the trials based on indictments filed by authorities, including the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, in 2025.