Indictments against the prison superintendent who forged documents to grant presidential pardon to the accused in 28 cases

The Attorney General has filed indictments in the High Court against former Anuradhapura Prison Superintendent Mohan Karunaratne regarding an incident where a defendant linked to several cases was illegally released from prison under a presidential pardon by preparing forged documents, which caused a stir some time ago. Five separate indictments were read out and handed over to the former Prison Superintendent before North Central Provincial High Court Judge Indika Attanayake.

It is stated that a defendant involved in 28 cases that were still pending before the courts at the time, was illegally released under the presidential pardon granted on the occasion of the Vesak Full Moon Poya Day in 2025.

In connection with this incident, the Attorney General directly filed this case before the High Court, considering it a special case within one year of the incident, without holding a non-summary preliminary inquiry at the Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate's Court. After the indictments were read out, the former Prison Superintendent, through his lawyer, informed the court that he was innocent of all five charges. Subsequently, the judge ordered the release of the defendant on a cash bail of twenty-five thousand rupees and two personal bails of two hundred thousand rupees each, with the condition that one of the sureties must be a close relative. The High Court, which decided to hear the case for the first time, ordered the defendant to reappear in court on the upcoming August 06.

On the same day, indictments were also read out and handed over to the second defendant, W.M. Athula Tilakaratne, who was accused of aiding and abetting the Prison Superintendent in committing the said offense in this incident and had been illegally released. After he also declared himself innocent, the judge ordered his release on cash and personal bail. However, this second defendant, who is currently serving a five-year rigorous imprisonment sentence after being convicted in another financial fraud case, was produced before the court by the Anuradhapura Prison for the purpose of handing over the indictments.

The person released by the former Prison Superintendent using forged documents was involved in 28 cases, including 6 cases in the Anuradhapura High Court and 22 cases in the Magistrate's Court. He is currently imprisoned due to a five-year rigorous imprisonment sentence imposed by Dr. Nalinda Hewawasam, who was then the Anuradhapura High Court Judge (and is currently the Matale Provincial High Court Judge), for the charge of defrauding 3.5 million rupees belonging to a doctor residing in Thalawathugoda Hokandara area.

Following the revelation of the illegal release of this defendant under the presidential pardon, the Criminal Investigation Department arrested former Prison Superintendent Mohan Karunaratne. After being held in remand for nearly a month, he is currently out on strict bail conditions imposed by the Magistrate's Court and a travel ban. With his imprisonment, steps were also taken to interdict him from service as per the order of the Commissioner General of Prisons.

The second defendant, Athula Tilakaratne, is accused of defrauding over 500 million rupees while working as a manager in a leading private bank in the country. It has been revealed that among the complainants in the 28 cases against him are many high-ranking dignitaries in society, such as specialist doctors, specialist judicial medical officers, high-ranking police officers, state administrative officers, and leading businessmen. Investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department have revealed that he committed these frauds by claiming to offer high-interest rates through the financial institution where he worked. Furthermore, it has been revealed that there are others who deposited millions of rupees in this institution and lost them, but did not take legal action due to shame. It is noteworthy that this is the first instance in the country where the Attorney General has filed a case in the High Court against a Prison Superintendent for releasing a prisoner under a presidential pardon by preparing forged documents.