தவறவிடாதீர்கள்..!உடனே பதிவு செய்யுங்கள்

By Our Correspondent 

The Colombo High Court has dismissed the appeal filed by Shashi Weerawansa, upholding the two-year rigorous imprisonment sentence and LKR 100,000 fine imposed by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court for possessing a fraudulently obtained diplomatic passport.

High Court Judge Manjula Tilakaratne affirmed the original verdict against Shashi Weerawansa, the wife of former Minister Wimal Weerawansa. The court found that she had obtained a National Identity Card showing her date of birth as February 1, 1967, but later secured a diplomatic passport by altering the date to February 3, 1971.

Delivering the judgment, the judge stressed that any passport obtained through false information is invalid and that citizens are legally responsible for providing accurate personal details to state institutions. The court also rejected the defense claim that the discrepancy was a clerical error, noting that the passport had been used for several overseas trips without any attempt to correct the information. The High Court further ruled that the Magistrate’s Court had properly evaluated all evidence before convicting the defendant on May 27, 2022. As a result, the original sentence remains in effect, including a two-year prison term and a fine of LKR 100,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months of imprisonment.

The court ordered that the certified judgment be sent to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court for enforcement. Meanwhile, legal sources indicate that Weerawansa’s lawyers are preparing to file a further appealbefore a higher court.