Supreme Court imposes travel ban on Keheliya Rambukwella

Keheliya Rambukwella

The Supreme Court has ordered the release of former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and three other respondents on bonds and imposed travel bans over their failure to pay court-ordered compensation in a case involving the importation of substandard medicines.

The order was issued by a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena.

In March this year, the Supreme Court ruled that fundamental human rights had been violated through the importation of substandard medicines during the previous government.

Following the ruling, the court ordered five respondents, including former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, to pay compensation.

Rambukwella was ordered to pay Rs. 75 million in compensation. However, his lawyer informed the court that only Rs. 20 million of the amount had been paid so far.

The latest order was issued after the Supreme Court considered a motion filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka, alleging that Rambukwella and the other respondents had committed contempt of court by failing to pay the compensation as ordered.