Sanjaya Mahawatta is ordered to pay 500 million in compensation for insulting Haritha Sarasaviya

The Colombo District Court has ordered Sanjaya Mahawatte, who was found guilty of making a defamatory statement against the National School of Business Management (NSBM), the governing body of NSBM Green University, to pay an enormous compensation of Rs. 500 million.

This court verdict was announced after hearing two lawsuits filed by the plaintiff company, seeking Rs. 250 million each for the damage caused to its reputation by the statements made by the relevant defendant.

The trial was conducted ex-parte, without the participation of the defendant party, where President's Counsel Mr. Silva appeared before the court on behalf of the plaintiff, acting on the instructions of Attorney-at-Law Mr. Sanath Wijewardena. Accordingly, the plaintiff party had taken steps to present its evidence to the court through an affidavit.

Since the evidence presented was not challenged by the defense, the Colombo District Court concluded that the plaintiff's cause of action had been fairly proven. Emphasizing that the defendant had no legal right to defame the relevant educational institution, which has high recognition and reputation in society, the judge ordered the defendant to pay a total of Rs. 500 million as compensation, Rs. 250 million for each of the two filed cases.

The court ruling further states that the defendant is bound to pay the legal interest until the full compensation amount is settled. Additionally, the court issued a permanent injunction against the defendant, preventing him from holding further press conferences or releasing defamatory statements and information against the said company through social media networks like Facebook.