Sumathipala faces further legal troubles

Thilanga Sumathipala, Sri Lanka Cricket's (SLC) president, faces further legal wrangles after Namal Balalla, the Colombo Additional Magistrate, announced this week that he had been discharged but not cleared. The magistrate has ordered Sumathipala to appear before court on January 8.

Sumathipala is fighting a case filed by the CID under the Immigration and Emigration Act after being accused of aiding and abetting an underworld figure to obtain a British visa under a false passport. The investigation followed a series of serious allegations by a Sunday newspaper. If found guilty, Sumathipala faces a possible jail sentence.

Sumathipala, who vehemently denies all the charges, had held a press conference on Monday night to announce that he had been discharged. Sumathipala's legal team had convinced a Poya Day court that the CID possessed insufficient evidence to pursue their case. He looked to have emerged from the most difficult period of his life.

But the manner in which the court was convened on a public holiday, without the presence of a representative from the Attorney General's department or the CID, drew sharp criticism from the bar. Balalla rejected the submissions by the defence not to accept the plaint filed by the CID, arguing any evidence would be assessed in court on Jan 8.