Justice Minister reveals corruption by lower court judges
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has revealed activities of corruption by lower court judges in Sri Lanka.
Addressing the Parliament on Wednesday, the Justice Minister revealed that electricity had been illegally obtained for the official residence of the Mount Lavinia Magistrate.
“It was found a few days ago that the electricity supply provided for the court premises had been tampered with and an illegal power line had been drawn to the residence of the Mount Lavinia Magistrate,” he said.
The minister said a power leak at the magistrate’s residence had been inspected during which the the Justice Ministry electrician had been electrocuted but had been saved with great effort.
“This has been done to include the electricity bill of the magistrate’s residence to that of the courts,” he said, adding that this incident had led to finding out that the water supply had also been illegally obtained to the Magistrate’s residence.
He also revealed that a complaint had been received claiming that whiskey worth Rs. 200 million had gone missing from the court-seized goods at the Colombo Magistrate’s Court and the incident had occurred while a former justice was at the premises.
Minister Rajapakshe said as per the complaint it was claimed that the goods had been stolen.
“However, the Government Analyst’s report revealed that the goods had not been stolen, but someone had entered the room containing the goods, using a key,” he said.
The Justice Minister went on to note that the Judicial Services Commission does not conduct proper investigations into such incidents and also fails to initiate legal action.
Stating that his own attempts to address the issues remain futile, Minister WIjeyadasa Rajapakshe said such corrupt activities must stop.
2024-06-20
