The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the further examination of evidence on 12 May in the case filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) against former State Minister Diana Gamage.
The case was taken up on Tuesday before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama. During proceedings, the magistrate directed that the next phase of evidence be recorded on 12 May.
The CID has charged Gamage with providing false information to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration in order to obtain a Sri Lankan passport, and with residing in the country without a valid visa. The charges flow from a long-running citizenship dispute that ultimately led the Supreme Court to rule she was not a Sri Lankan citizen at the time she took oaths as a State Minister in the previous government, voiding her parliamentary seat.
Gamage served as State Minister of Tourism in the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration and was a member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) before crossing over. Her forfeiture of seat in 2024 prompted a sharp debate over the standards applied to citizenship checks for members of parliament and about the administrative role of the Immigration Department.
The CID filed the present case after a separate investigation into how Gamage obtained her Sri Lankan travel documents despite allegedly holding British citizenship. She has denied the allegations and is currently out on bail.
Tuesday’s hearing is the latest in a series of procedural steps ahead of full evidence being led against her. The court is expected to hear witness testimony from Immigration Department officials at the next sitting.
