Travel ban on former Deputy Minister lifted

Former Deputy Minister of Fisheries Sarath Kumara Gunaratne, who is charged over the alleged misappropriation of state funds amounting to nearly Rs 14 million, has been granted permission to travel abroad by the Colombo High Court.

Presenting submissions before Colombo High Court Judge Shashi Mahendran, the defense counsels requested permission for their client to travel to India from October 01 to October 16.

Accordingly, the High Court Judge granted permission for the former deputy minister to travel abroad during the aforesaid time period and ordered the Department of Immigration and Emigration to lift the travel ban currently imposed on the defendant.

The Attorney General had filed the case against former Deputy Minister Sarath Kumara Gunaratne and five others for allegedly misappropriating nearly Rs 14 million, which had been allocated for the Negombo Lagoon Development Project, by using the funds for the election campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.