Former Minister Prasanna Ranatunga withdraws appeal

Former Minister Prasanna Ranatunga’s attorneys have withdrawn an appeal filed on behalf of him with the Court of Appeal seeking an order to acquit him of the suspended prison sentence and fines imposed on him.

The appeal was taken up today (11) before a five-member bench of the Appellate Court, comprising Justices Mayadunne Corea, S. Kumaran Ratnam, Shashi Mahendran, Damith Thotawatte and Amal Ranaraja, Ada Derana reporter said.

Accordingly, the bench of the Court of Appeal, which granted former minister Prasanna Ranatunga time to pay the fine of Rs. 25 million in installments, later granted permission to withdraw the appeal.

Ranatunga was accused of threatening a businessman and demanding Rs. 64 million to evict unauthorized occupants from a land in the Meethotamulla area in Kolonnawa and to refill the land, during his tenure as Chief Minister of the Western Province.