The Supreme Court has scheduled the appeal hearing of former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, who were convicted and sentenced to prison by a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court on corruption charges, for January 20, 2026.
The appeals were taken up today (October 28) before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justice Kumuduni Wickramasinghe, and Justice Achala Wengappuli.
During the proceedings, the lawyer representing the Bribery Commission informed the court that she had not yet received the case files related to the matter.
Similarly, President’s Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetti and Ali Sabry, appearing for the defendants, also stated that they had not yet received the relevant case files.
Taking note of this, the bench led by the Chief Justice instructed court officials to promptly provide the necessary files to both the petitioners and the Bribery Commission.
The bench further ordered that the appeal be relisted on January 20, 2026, to confirm the facts pertaining to the appeal petitions.
At the time the appeals were called, former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, who are currently serving prison sentences, were produced in open court by prison officials.
Former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, while former Minister Nalin Fernando received a 25-year rigorous imprisonment sentence by a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court.
The case, filed by the Bribery Commission, alleged that the two former ministers had engaged in corruption by importing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 dam boards through the S.T.O.S., which were then distributed to the political offices of then-presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa during the 2015 presidential election.
The two former ministers have filed these appeal petitions seeking acquittal and release from their respective sentences.
