The Colombo High Court today (11) dismissed the appeal filed by Shashi Weerawansa, the wife of Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa, against the two-year rigorous imprisonment sentence and fine imposed on her for illegally obtaining and possessing a diplomatic passport.
With the appeal being rejected, the original sentence handed down by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court remains in force.
The case stems from a judgment delivered on May 27, 2022, by then Colombo Chief Magistrate Buddhika Sri Ragala, who found Shashi Weerawansa guilty of obtaining a diplomatic passport by submitting false documents and providing false information to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Accordingly, the Magistrate sentenced her to two years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 100,000. The court further ordered that if the fine was not paid, she would be required to serve an additional six months of imprisonment.
In his ruling, Magistrate Sri Ragala also directed that a copy of the judgment be forwarded to the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration to facilitate appropriate action against public officials who had allegedly aided and abetted the unlawful issuance of the diplomatic passport.
Following the conviction, Weerawansa’s legal team filed an appeal before the Colombo High Court challenging both the conviction and the sentence. Simultaneously, a bail application was submitted to the Colombo Magistrate’s Court pending the determination of the appeal.
On May 31, 2022—four days after the sentence was delivered—then Colombo Chief Magistrate Nandana Amarasinghe granted her bail. In granting bail, the court considered several exceptional circumstances, including the fact that she had no previous criminal convictions or pending legal cases, as well as the lengthy period likely to be required for the appeal process to conclude.
The original case was filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on January 23, 2015, under the provisions of the Immigration and Emigration Act.
During the trial, Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, presented evidence indicating that although the accused had applied for the diplomatic passport through the one-day service, she had not personally followed the standard procedure at the relevant counter. Instead, he argued that she had obtained the passport through indirect means by exploiting the influence associated with her position as the wife of a cabinet minister at the time.
After reviewing the submissions and evidence presented, the Colombo High Court today upheld the findings of the Magistrate’s Court and dismissed the appeal, thereby affirming the two-year rigorous imprisonment sentence and fine imposed on Shashi Weerawansa.
The ruling marks the conclusion of a lengthy legal process that began more than a decade ago with the filing of charges by the CID in 2015.