Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe orders probe into resignation of judge over life threats
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered a probe into the resignation of a district judge in the Tamil-majority Northern province's Mullaithivu over threats to his life, officials said on Saturday.
T Saravanarajah tendered his resignation to the Judicial Service Commission on September 23, claiming threats to his life and reportedly left the country.
Among the various cases presided over by the judge, he had ruled against the building of a Buddhist shrine at a disputed archaeological site. The legal proceedings over the digging of an alleged mass grave in the same area were also presided over by Saravanarajah.
According to informed officials, President Wickremesinghe directed the Secretary to the President to probe the circumstances of Saravanarajah's resignation, as the judge hadn't lodged any complaints on the alleged threat to his life previously.
As the district judge of the northern region of Mullaithivu, Saravanarajah had ruled against the building of a Buddhist shrine at Kurunthamale, a disputed archaeological site. The Tamils in the region had protested against what they claimed were land grants by the state for Buddhist archaeological excavations.
Saravanarajah also presided over the legal proceedings at the digging of an alleged mass grave in the same area.
In June, the alleged mass grave was accidentally discovered at Kokkuthuduvai by the National Water Board workers while carrying out digging activities for a development project in the area. The minority Tamil community demanded a credible investigation into an alleged mass grave in the northeastern district.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Mullaithivu was a nerve centre of the LTTE as they ran a parallel state before May 2009 when they were defeated by the Sri Lankan military.
Many legal associations, including the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, described the judge's resignation as a "serious threat" to the independence of the judiciary in the island nation and urged the Judicial Service Commission to carry out an independent investigation.
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Adani, nephew not charged under US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Adani Green
New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have not been charged with any violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment filed by US authorities in a court in a bribery case, the Adani Group said on Wednesday.
Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, Sagar Adani and another key executive, Vneet Jaain, have been charged by the US Department of Justice with being part of an alleged scheme to pay USD 265 million in bribes to Indian officials to win contracts for supply of solar electricity that would yield USD 2 billion profit over a 20-year period.
In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Ltd, which is at the centre of the bribery allegations, said reports claiming that the three have been charged with FCPA violations "are incorrect".
They have been charged with offences that are punishable with a monetary fine or penalty.
"Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC.
"These directors have been charged on three counts in the criminal indictment, namely (i) alleged securities fraud conspiracy, (ii) alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and (iii) alleged securities fraud," the filing said.
The Adani Group has denied all allegations and said it will take all possible legal recourse to defend itself.
A criminal indictment has been filed before the United States District Court Eastern District of New York by the Department of Justice in the case of USA against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain.
"The indictment does not specify any quantum of any fine/penalty," the company said.
The civil complaint alleges that the executives violated certain sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934, and aided and abetted Adani Green Energy Limited's violation of the Acts, it said.
"Although the complaint prays for an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties, it does not quantify the amount of penalty," it said.
