29 April 2021 12:00 am Views - 186
By Yoshitha Perera
The verdict of the Avant-Garde floating armoury case will be delivered by the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar on May 21.
Concluding the trial proceedings pertaining to the case, Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar bench comprising High Court Judges Adithya Patabendi, Manjula Thikalarathne and Mahen Weeraman made the above statement.
Last month, the Trial-at-Bar ordered to temporarily lift the travel ban imposed against Avant-Garde Chairman Nissanka Yapa Senadhipathi.
Earlier, the Colombo High Court Trail-at-Bar dismissed the amended indictments on the Avant Garde illegal arms transportation case filed by the Attorney General (AG) on the basis that it was illegal to file a charge sheet against the released defendants from the case.
At that point, presenting preliminary objections to the case, the Defence Counsel told Court that the amended indictments filed by the AG were completely contrary to the law.
In the very first instance, the AG had filed 7537 indictments on the defendants of the case but the Trial-at-Bar discharged five accused from the charges levelled against them.
The Court had decided to continue the case with 19 charges because rest of the charges indicated errors.
Again on January 31, 2020, the AG had filed a revised charge sheet containing indictments against chairman of Avant Garde Maritime Services Nissanka Senadhipathi and eight others over the allegation of possessing unauthorized firearms and the operation of an illegal floating armoury in the Galle Port.
Accordingly, 882 indictments have been filed against the eight defendants before the three-member Special High Court bench.
However, considering the amended charge sheet filed by the AG, the Trail-at-Bar Judges informed that it was illegal to file an amended indictments against the released defendants and the Court had observed that the charges filed by the AG was bad in law.
Earlier, the High Court Trial-at-Bar granted bail to the Avant Garde Chairman and eight others and ordered to release five defendants from the case.
The suspects have been charged for violating the Firearms Ordinance, Explosives Ordinance, and the Penal Code in connection with the possession of 816 automatic firearms and 200935 rounds of ammunition on board the MV Avant-Garde without proper licence or permit between April 7, 2014, and October 6, 2015.