News
Court of Appeal orders retrial of Raviraj case after AG contests acquittal
View(s):By Ranith Padmasiri
The Court of Appeal has set aside the acquittal of all accused in the assassination case of former parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj, directing that a retrial be conducted before the High Court.
The persons indicted in the case were then Navy intelligence officers Hettiarachchi Mudiyansekage Prasad Chandana Kumara, also known as Sampath; Daliwala Gedara Gamini Senevirathna of Makelwela; Kankanamlage Pradeep Chaminda, also known as Vajira; and Karuna Group (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal) activists Sivakanthan Vivekanandan, also known as Charan, and Fabian Royston Tussaint.
They were initially charged alongside the first accused, Palanasami Suresh alias Sami, who is now deceased.
They were acquitted by the High Court of Colombo following a jury trial. However, the Attorney General appealed against the verdict, contending that the trial was affected by serious legal shortcomings.
Deputy Solicitor General Suharshie Herath appeared for the prosecution and argued the appeal.
In its ruling delivered on March 26, 2026, Justice Sasi Mahendran held that the High Court Judge had failed to properly direct the jury on the evidentiary value of certain witnesses.
Accordingly, the acquittal was set aside, and a retrial was ordered against all the accused, marking a significant development in the long-running case.
The victim, Nadarajah Raviraj,
was a Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian. He was shot dead in November 2006 in Colombo.
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