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Why was Colombo Magistrate transferred?
The Bar Council will carry out a fact-finding study ofthe circumstances that led to the sudden transfer of the Colombo Fort Magistrate Sarath C. Karunaratne, Bar Association Secretary Anoma Gunatillake said.
Ms. Gunatillake said the magistrate was due to be transferred earlier, but had made a request that the transfer be deferred until August due to his daughter’s wedding.

Mr. Karunaratne’s transfer is coming into effect on Tuesday – just a day ahead of the high-profile case regarding Prime Minister Rajapakse’s controversial ‘Helping Hambantota tsunami fund’ bank accounts, is taken up. Earlier the magistrate had given an order for the CID to go ahead with the investigations.
The CID had filed the report before Mr. Karunaratne and subsequently the case was taken up before Fort Acting Magistrate Jayantha Dias Nanayakkara who endorsed the earlier order given by Mr. Karunaratne to inspect documents of the controversial bank accounts.

The issue was brought up at the Bar Council meeting yesterday by a member who said they could not accept the position taken up by the Judicial Service Commission that it was a routine transfer.

But, JSC Secretary Chandra Jayatillake told The Sunday Times that it was necessary to transfer him as there were two complaints against him.
He, however, said that if someone was to make a case that Mr. Karunaratne was required to hear the Helping Hambantota case, the JSC might consider such a request.

The Bar Council also took up the matter in which a senior lawyer of the Matara Bar is alleged to have been driven out of court by the Magistrate after he pleaded on behalf of one of his clients who could not appear in court as her daughter was due to undergo an urgent maternity operation. The Magistrate is alleged to have abused the lawyer and told him to leave the court room. The Bar Council is expected to take up the issues at its next meeting.

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