Former Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Anusha Palpita have been found guilty by the Colombo High Court in the ‘Sil Cloth’ case.  

Palpita and Weeratunga were charged in a case filed alleging that the TRC had spent Rs.600 million to distribute Sil Cloth to the people as part of the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election campaign in 2015.  

Weeratunga had served as the Chairman of the TRC during this period. 

Ada Derana reporter said that both accused were found guilty on two counts each with each count receiving a one-and-a-half year sentence. 

The Attorney General had filed indictments against the two accused on three counts of committing a criminal misappropriation funds amounting to Rs.600 million at TRC while spending for a ‘Sil Cloth’ (fabrics used by devotees to observe sill) distribution program in contravention of the Telecommunication Act, No. 25 of 1991 Act during the period of October 30, 2014 to January 5, 2015. 

The prosecutors alleged that the funds referred to had been remitted to a bank account maintained by Secretary to the President.  

UPDATE: (12.48pm) - Weeratunga and Palpita have each been sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court.

They have also been fined Rs 2 million each and ordered to pay Rs 50 million each to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) as compensation. 

The accused have been given time until September 20 to pay the compensation to the TRC.