Minister of Urban Development and Housing Prasanna Ranatunga today (11) withdrew the appeal he had filed before the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn his conviction and suspended prison sentence in a case filed for threatening a businessman and demanding a bribe.

The appeal was taken up before a five-judge bench comprising Mayadunne Corea, Kumaran Ratnam, Sashi Mahendran, Damith Thotawatta, and Amal Ranaraja. During proceedings, the Court granted Ranatunga additional time to pay the Rs 25 million fine in instalments. Following this, permission was granted to withdraw the appeal.

On 6 June 2022, the Colombo High Court sentenced Ranatunga to two years of rigorous imprisonment, suspended for five years, in connection with the case. The Court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 million, with a further nine-month prison term in case of default, and ordered him to pay Rs 1 million in compensation to the complainant, businessman Gerard Mendis, with an additional three-month imprisonment if unpaid. The verdict was delivered by Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Tillakaratne.

Two other accused in the case, including Prasanna Ranatunga’s wife, Morin Ranatunga, were acquitted.

The Attorney General filed the indictment in May 2016, accusing Ranatunga, then Chief Minister of the Western Province, of threatening a businessman and demanding Rs 64 million to remove unauthorised occupants from a 322-perch land in Meethotamulla, Kolonnawa, and to refill the property.

Following the verdict, Prasanna Ranatunga requested the court to overturn the suspended prison sentence and fine imposed by the Colombo High Court and to acquit him of all charges.