The Presidential Commission of Inquiry investigating alleged irregularities in coal imports has formally issued notices to 18 people, among them former Power and Energy Minister Engineer Kumara Jayakody, Hiru News reported.
The 18 appeared before the commission on Tuesday, after which the notices were served. They have until 9 October to respond to the allegations, and may submit evidence through lawyers and obtain records of earlier testimony.
Those summoned included ministry secretaries, officials of the Norochcholai coal power plant, and the accountant of the Lakvijaya power plant.
Why the timing matters
The commission’s term concludes on 16 October — one week after the deadline it has given the 18 to reply. Issuing notices is the stage at which a commission of inquiry puts specific allegations to named individuals and invites a defence before reporting, so the step marks the inquiry moving from evidence-gathering toward findings.
Hiru reports that the commission has summoned 204 people and recorded 370 statements over the course of its work.
The commission
The three-member body is chaired by Supreme Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga, sitting with Court of Appeal Judge Aditya Patabendige and High Court Judge Sanjeewa Somaratne.
It was formally gazetted on 17 April under the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Act No. 7 of 1978, with a mandate covering the entire period from the inception of coal-based power generation in Sri Lanka up to 16 April 2026, and centring on transactions involving the state-owned Lanka Coal (Private) Limited. Its remit includes identifying the political authorities, officials and suppliers responsible for any wrongdoing.
Its 16 October end date falls almost exactly six months after the gazette.
Jayakody’s other proceedings
Jayakody resigned as Energy Minister during the coal controversy, and his secretary resigned with him. He was questioned by the commission earlier in the year, and hearings have taken evidence from figures including former state minister D.V. Chanaka, who alleged a tender was delayed to suit a single supplier.
He is separately a defendant in a Bribery Commission case in the Colombo High Court over a 2014 road-carpeting contract, where further evidence is fixed for 5 October. The two proceedings are unrelated: one is a presidential commission on coal procurement, the other a criminal prosecution over a fertiliser company contract.
Not reported
Hiru does not name the other 17 recipients, state what allegations the notices set out, or say whether the commission will seek an extension of its term. It gives the deadlines only as “the 9th” and “the 16th of next month”; we read these as October 2026 dates.
This article is single-sourced. No other verified newsroom had filed on the notices at the time of writing; Ada Derana, which frequently covers the commission, remains unreachable from our infrastructure.
