Former minister Harin Fernando appeared before the Badulla Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in a case alleging he breached election laws during the last general election campaign.
Fernando, now deputy general secretary of the United National Party, appeared when the case was called again, Hiru News reported at 10.13 a.m.
The allegation
The case concerns a procession through Badulla town at midday on the day campaigning was due to end at the last general election, which prosecutors say breached election law, according to Hiru’s correspondent.
Sri Lanka’s electoral law imposes a campaign blackout in the period immediately before polling. A procession held during the final hours of the permitted campaign period is the kind of event that turns on precise timing, and the reporting does not establish whether the allegation is that the procession ran past the cut-off or that it breached a separate restriction.
How the case began
Fernando was arrested on 20 November 2024 when he arrived at the Badulla Headquarters Police station to give a statement about the incident, and was produced before the Badulla Magistrate’s Court the same day.
The magistrate considered the facts and ordered his release on a personal bail of Rs. 500,000. The case has been called periodically since, and Tuesday’s appearance is one more step in it.
Not reported
Hiru’s filing does not give the next hearing date, name the magistrate who sat on Tuesday, state what happened at the hearing beyond Fernando’s appearance, or say what charges have formally been laid. It does not say whether Fernando has entered a plea, whether any co-accused are involved, or how many times the case has been called since November 2024.
It does not name the election at issue beyond “the last general election”, and gives no comment from Fernando or his counsel.
This desk could not find a second verified newsroom reporting Tuesday’s appearance at the time of writing, and has not cited the 2024 filings on the original arrest: those are two years old and fall outside the freshness window this desk applies to sources, though their account of the arrest date and bail amount matches Hiru’s.
One caution for readers searching this case: it has been adjourned repeatedly, and headlines reporting earlier adjournments read almost identically to this one. An Ada Derana report on an adjournment of the same case carries a legacy article ID well below the outlet’s current numbering, placing it in an earlier round rather than Tuesday’s.
