Bail applications of Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando rejected by court

The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar has rejected the bail applications filed by former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, who were convicted and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment in the “carrom board case.”

The three-judge bench, comprising Priyantha Liyanage, Viraj Weerasuriya, and P.M.T. Bandara, delivered the order after considering the applications submitted by the two former ministers.

In its decision, the bench stated that a defendant convicted by the court must present valid and specific reasons to be considered for bail while an appeal is pending. The judges noted that the facts presented by Aluthgamage and Fernando were not sufficient to justify granting bail. Accordingly, their applications were rejected.

On May 29, 2025, the Colombo High Court sentenced former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and former Sathosa Chairman and former Trade Minister Nalin Fernando to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment.

They were found guilty of causing a financial loss of over Rs. 53 million to the Government of Sri Lanka during the 2015 Presidential Election period by importing and distributing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 checkers (daam) boards through Sathosa, a state-owned enterprise, to sports clubs across the country.

The case, filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), centered on a fraudulent procurement deal carried out between September 1 and December 31, 2014. The total loss to the state was estimated at Rs. 53.1 million.

Both former ministers have filed appeals before the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn their convictions and be acquitted of all charges.