The Colombo High Court has ordered a pre-trial conference for October 13 in a corruption case involving former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda and Yoshitha Rajapaksa, accused of misusing public funds and circumventing naval recruitment procedures.

The Colombo High Court has scheduled a pre-trial conference for October 13 in the corruption case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption against former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and Yoshitha Rajapaksa. Judge Ravindra Premaratne issued the order following a court hearing on September 16, where both accused appeared in person while out on bail.

The case centres on allegations that Karannagoda and Rajapaksa arranged for Yoshitha Rajapaksa to enter the Sri Lanka Navy as a Cadet Officer in 2006 and subsequently attend training at the Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom, despite him not meeting the required qualifications. According to the CIABOC indictment, the actions resulted in financial losses to the government and violated established recruitment and training procedures.

During the hearing, defence counsels raised procedural concerns. President's Counsel Shavindra Fernando, representing Karannagoda, indicated that complete copies of certain evidentiary statements had not been provided to the defence. President's Counsel Sampath Mendis, representing Yoshitha Rajapaksa, requested clearer copies of documents submitted by the CIABOC, noting that some were illegible. The CIABOC Deputy Director General Ruwini Wickramasinghe responded that certain documents had already been filed with the court and could not be released by the Commission, though other relevant materials held by the CIABOC remained available.

The court ordered that documents currently in the High Court's possession be provided to the defence subject to prescribed fees, and directed the CIABOC to release any additional relevant materials in its custody. Both accused remain out on bail pending the pre-trial conference.