The Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the arrest of Deputy Minister of Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara and Member of Parliament Jagath Manuwarna, together with four other accused, after all six failed to appear for a scheduled hearing.
Additional Magistrate Kingsley Hettiarachchi issued arrest warrants for the group and directed that they be produced before the court. Besides Gunasekara and Manuwarna, the order named Roshan Ali Dhaniz Ali, Amal Salinda — alias “Army Amila” — Udayanga Kumara and the Venerable Koswatte Mahanama Thero. According to the court, all six are currently out on bail.
The accused face charges of taking part in a protest and being members of an unlawful assembly in violation of a court order, as reported by the Daily Mirror and Ada Derana. The court also issued notices to the sureties who had stood bail for the group and fixed the case to be taken up again on December 4, 2026.
Gunasekara holds a deputy ministerial portfolio in the government, while Manuwarna sits in Parliament, making the order to arrest and produce them before court a notable turn in the case. The warrants were prompted solely by their absence from the scheduled hearing, with the underlying charges yet to be tried.
