Duplicate Bandu acquitted from charges imitating original Bandu

• CCD filed a charge sheet against the accused following a complaint by the film actor Bandu Samarasinghe

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda  

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday acquitted and released Bindu Botalegama who is alleged to have duplicated the performances of veteran film actor Bandu Samarasinghe, from a case filed against him under the Intellectual Property Act.  

The Court also ordered to acquit and release four others accused including Sri Lankan film director and film producer Udayakantha Warnasuriya and film producer Chaminda Kumara Rajasinghe from the charges of making a film imitating the behaviour and the voice of film actor Bandu Samarasinghe. 

While ordering to acquit and release Bindu Botalegama and four others from the case, Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis held that the charges filed against five accused do not come under the ambit of the Intellectual Property Act. The Chief Magistrate observed that the Director General of National Intellectual Property Office was of the view that the allegations levelled against the accused do not constitute any offence under section 178 of the Intellectual Property Act. Five accused were acquitted from the case without calling defence evidence.  The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) filed a charge sheet against the accused following a complaint by comedy film actor Bandu Samarasinghe.   

Samarasinghe alleged that a person named Bindu Botalegama had unauthorisedly duplicated his performances including his way of behaviour and his voice in a manner of infringing his economic rights guaranteed under the Intellectual Property Act.  

Counsel Harshika Samaranayake appeared for Bindu Botalegama.