Court asks Sri Lanka Army Commander to present documents related to second court martial against Fonseka

A Sri Lankan court today asked the Army Commander to present to court the entire proceedings of the second court martial against former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka.

Colombo High Court Judge Sunil Rajapaksa issued the order when the Hicorp arms fraud case against Fonseka was taken up for hearing.

Fonseka's attorney had informed the court that since the Supreme Court has recently ruled that a Court Martial was an accepted court according the Constitution, Fonseka could not be tried for the Hicorp case as he has already been charged by a court martial.

The attorney had said that according to clause 314 of the criminal code, the High Court cannot take up the case on a repeat of charges.

The judge had then issued a directive calling on the Army Commander to present all documents related to the second court martial that took up the Hicorp case.

Fonseka is accused of defrauding the government by handing over a tender for arms procurement to HiCorp, a company owned by his son-in-law Danuna Tilakaratne.

Fonseka was found guilty by a court martial of four charges related to alleged irregularities in military procurements during his tenure as Army Chief. He is currently serving a 30-month rigorous prison sentence.