The Court of Appeal today dismissed a revision application filed by former District Judge Homagama Sunil Abeysinghe, seeking an order to enlarge him on bail,
The former District Judge had been sentenced to 16 years Rigorous Imprisonment by the Colombo High Court on February 20, 2020, for soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs.300,000 in May 2013 from a person in the Hanwella area to deliver a favourable verdict in a case where he was the presiding judge.
A Court of Appeal bench comprising Justice Menaka Wijesundera and Justice Neil Iddawala observed that no exceptional circumstances exist in the current situation to consider the granting of the bail pending appeal.
The prevailing situation of the country due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the vulnerability of the petitioner to be a victim of the pandemic due to his old age, had been cited as an exceptional circumstance in the revision application.
The former District Judge was convicted for offences committed under Section 14(b) read with Section 25 (3) of the Bribery Act, for soliciting or accepting gratification as an inducement or a reward to do or forebear to do an act in his capacity as a Judicial Officer. He has been sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000.00 for each of the four counts he has been charged with by the learned judge of the High Court of Colombo on 20.02.2020. In addition to the above sentence, a fine of Rs.300,000.00 has also been imposed in default of which a term of 2 years of rigorous imprisonment was imposed.
The Bribery Commission had filed indictments against the accused based on a complaint made by a woman, a resident of Embulgama, Homagama.
