The Colombo High Court will deliver its order on 18 November on the Bribery Commission’s attempt to revoke the bail granted to MP Namal Rajapaksa in the Krrish case and send him back to remand, the court ruled on Friday.
High Court Judge Lal Bandara Ranasinghe fixed the date when the revision petition was taken up, the Daily Mirror reported. Hiru News reported the same order, the same judge and the same two dates independently.
What the Commission is asking for
The petition was filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) against the bail the Colombo Magistrate’s Court granted Rajapaksa on 3 November 2026 in the Krrish deal case.
Appearing for the Commission, Assistant Director (Legal) Thanuja Bandara asked the court for two things:
- an interim order suspending the operation of the magistrate’s bail order while the petition is pending; and
- in the final order, that the bail be set aside and the respondent remanded until the conclusion of the case.
Friday’s ruling means the court will decide both the interim request and the substance on 18 November.
The defence application
President’s Counsel Ali Sabry, appearing for Rajapaksa, has asked the High Court to dismiss the Commission’s revision petition outright. The court fixed 25 November for consideration of that application — a week after the order on the Commission’s petition is due.
Context
The Colombo Chief Magistrate released Rajapaksa on bail on 3 November on three sureties of Rs 5 million each, barring him from leaving the country and from contacting witnesses. He did not walk free at that point: he remained in custody pending the separate Airbus matter.
The Krrish case concerns a property transaction involving the Krrish group. The Commission named Rajapaksa a suspect in the matter in September, and a Krrish director was arrested the same month.
Not reported
Neither filing says whether Rajapaksa is currently in custody on any other matter, or whether he was present in court on Friday. Neither gives the grounds on which the Commission says the magistrate’s bail order was wrong, nor the grounds on which the defence says the petition should be dismissed. Neither states what happens to the 25 November date if the 18 November order disposes of the petition.