Maithri Gunaratne PC appearing for the aggrieved party Abdul Sattar, in the Thilini Priyamali fraud case says had he been Minister of Justice he would not have allowed his son to represent the fraudster in courts. Gunaratne appearing in a Youtube interview with a popular television journalist confirmed Attorney Rakitha Rajapakshe representing Priyamali is in fact the son of Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe while Attorney Dasun Nagashena either works or worked as a junior of Minister Rajapakshe who is a known top-notch lawyer in the country.
“I did comment in court saying the Minister’s team is here today,” he said. “It was an offhand remark made in open court during banter with other lawyers” he added.
Nagashena is also currently listed as the Minister’s coordinating secretary at the Ministry of Justice.
“Is it not an issue that the Minister’s son and someone in his personal staff representing Thilini Priyamali?” the presenter asks. “Had I been the Minister of Justice I would not have allowed my child to do this? My personal opinion is that it is unsuitable at a controversial time. When someone connected to the Minister is representing this particular person at a time like this it gives a wrong message. People can make various assumptions as a result of this. Even though the Minister of Justice has no involvement people may question as to why his team is appearing in this case.” Gunaratne said.
