Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena on Wednesday issued notice on the Criminal Investigation Department to appear before court on 4 November and state its position on a request to temporarily lift the overseas travel ban imposed on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The order followed a motion filed by Rajapaksa’s lawyers, who told the court he needs to return to Singapore for further treatment after undergoing heart surgery at a hospital there, Hiru News reported at 1.48 p.m. Colombo time.

The former president appeared in open court for the hearing.

The complainant did not appear

When the case was called, the Criminal Investigation Department — the complainant in the matter — was not present before court. The notice returnable on 4 November is directed at securing its response to the motion.

Nothing has been lifted. The court has set a date for the investigating agency to be heard, and the ban remains in force in the meantime.

Why the ban exists

The court has barred Gotabaya Rajapaksa and several former intelligence officers from leaving the country in connection with the investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, according to the same filing. The restriction is a feature of that investigation rather than of any separate proceeding.

Single source at this hour

This story rests on one verified newsroom. The Daily Mirror’s breaking-news listing carried no filing on the hearing when checked shortly after Hiru published, and NewsFirst’s rail carried none either. Ada Derana — which would ordinarily be checked for a court story of this weight — has been returning a CloudFront block to this desk for more than six weeks and could not be consulted. Readers should treat the detail below the headline as Hiru’s account until a second newsroom files.

Not reported

No filing gives the date of the heart surgery, the length of travel sought, whether any medical report was tendered to court, or the names of the lawyers who appeared. Nor does it say whether the CID’s absence was explained to the magistrate, or whether the former intelligence officers covered by the same ban have made similar requests.

Sources: Hiru News.