In reference to Justice (Rtd)
Deepali Wijesundera’s write to reply- where she states that she was shocked and saddened to see the false accusations levelled against her- I categorically state that there is no way for her to be shocked and saddened, as I called her for comments putting all the allegations levelled against her, and her response was carried in full in the said article.

In the said article, it was stated that investigations involving the Rajapaksa family and other politicians and their allies were to be closed, exposing how legal and investigation officers were being pressured to close the files. But it was never stated in the article that any of these cases was to be withdrawn from a court.

Even though she claims that the writer and her informants have violated Section 17 by publishing information in pending inquiries- which is a punishable offense- I wish to bring to the notice of Justice (Rtd) Wijesundera that, Section 17 of the Bribery Act of 1994, binds the Commission Members and Officers, but has no bearing on journalists. If our sources violated the said Section, in her opinion, so did Justice Wijesundera by discussing these cases with the Daily Mirror newspaper as she did share details on specific cases which is on the record and was quoted in the article. Were these disclosures not a violation of Section 17?

 I kindly request Justice Wijesundera to confirm whether Bribery Case No: BC 2051/2016 HC 59620 against Nissanka Senadhipathi and Palitha Fernando were purposely closed or not? The complainant was another investigator of the Bribery Commission. It was not the complainant investigator that carried out the investigation, but a team of investigators from another unit, which is well within the law. This reporter learns that this is the excuse given by the Commission members and the file was removed from bribery investigators and intentionally handed over to another investigator that gave evidence in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to probe political victimisation on behalf of Nissanka Senadhipathi.
Hence, I as the reporter, reiterate the correctness of my reporting and stand by it.