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During the 2015 presidential election, various posts were shared on social media about the removal of Nanda Mallawarachchi, the third defendant in the case filed by the Attorney General, on charges of causing a loss of nearly four hundred million rupees to the government by purchasing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 dam boards through the Sri Lanka Sports Federation and distributing them to sports associations. Below is a fact-check we conducted in this regard.
Social Media Posts:
A post was shared on social media stating, “The Attorney General’s Department’s stance has changed, surprising everyone! A defendant is acquitted in the Carrom-Dham Board case.”
Many other posts regarding this were shared on social media as follows.
Fact Check:
The case filed by the Bribery Commission regarding the carrom board incident
During the 2015 presidential election, former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Chair of the Sri Lanka Sports Federation and former Minister of Trade Nalin Fernando, who were accused of causing a loss of Rs. 53 million to the government by purchasing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 tarpaulins through the Sri Lanka Sports Federation and distributing them to sports associations, were found guilty of the charges by a three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court on May 29, 2025. Accordingly, the three-judge bench had unanimously announced its verdict that former Minister of Trade Nalin Fernando would be sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The Bribery Commission had filed this case against these defendants under six indictments under Section 70 of the Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission Act, alleging that they had committed the offence of “corruption” by importing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 dam boards through the Sri Lanka Sports Federation (SSLSF) between 7 December 2014 and 24 December 2014 and distributing them to sports associations for political purposes. Further information on this can be found here and here.
The case filed by the Attorney General under the Public Property Act regarding the carrom board incident
Moreover, based on this incident, the Attorney General had filed a case under Section 170 of the Criminal Procedure Code for misappropriation of government funds, on charges including causing a loss of nearly 40 million rupees to the government and aiding and abetting it.
The Attorney General had named former Sports Ministry Secretary (retired) Major General Nanda Mallawarachchi as the third defendant in this case, along with former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando. However, Nanda Mallawarachchi had been named as a witness in the case filed earlier by the Bribery Commission in relation to this incident.
Only the third defendant, Nanda Mallawarachchi, has been removed from the case filed by the Attorney General regarding the carrom board incident.
The Colombo High Court decided on March 30, 2026, to discharge the former Secretary to the Ministry of Sports, retired Major General Nanda Mallawarachchi, who was named as the third defendant in the relevant case, upon a request by the Attorney General under Section 194 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Colombo High Court judge accepted the request by the Attorney General’s Department and granted permission to remove Nanda Mallawarachchi, the third defendant, from the case under Section 194.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code. More information on this can be found here.
Mahindananda and Nalin’s initial objections have been rejected.
The defense lawyers had raised preliminary objections stating that it was against the law to file a new case for the same charge and accordingly, the case could not be continued. Colombo High Court Judge Buddhika C. Ragala, who rejected the preliminary objections and issued his order, stated that the Bribery Commission had filed the case against these defendants under Section 70 of the Bribery Act. Accordingly, the Colombo High Court had ruled on March 30, 2026, to reject the preliminary objections filed by former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, who are accused of misusing government funds in connection with this case. The mainstream media had reported on this as follows.
Court reporters
We inquired with court reporters to confirm this, and they confirmed that the Colombo High Court issued an order on March 30 regarding the preliminary objection raised by the defense. The defense argued that the case could not be filed again under the same charges since former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando were found guilty in a bribery case filed in connection with the carrom and dam board incident. Accordingly, the High Court judge granted permission to continue the case, as the factors affecting the two cases were different, and proceeded to reject the preliminary objections raised by the defense.
They also stated that the judge ordered the removal of Nanda Mallawarachchi, the third defendant in this case, because the Attorney General withdrew the charges against him, but that this does not constitute an acquittal.
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Conclusion
Our investigation shows that the court has decided to remove former Sports Ministry Secretary Nanda Mallawarachchi, who was named as the third defendant in the case filed by the Attorney General regarding the carrom board incident, from the case upon the Attorney General’s request, but the court has stated that this is not an acquittal.
Also, Nanda Mallawarachchi was not a defendant in the case filed by the Bribery Commission regarding this incident, and the High Court ruled in 2025 that former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, who were defendants in that case, were guilty of the charges.
The case, which was initiated by the Attorney General and is currently being heard, was ruled on by the Colombo High Court on March 30 regarding the preliminary objection raised by Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando, stating that since they were found guilty in a bribery case filed in connection with the Carrom and Dam Board incidents, they could not be prosecuted again under the same charges. Accordingly, the High Court Judge has granted permission to continue the case, as the factors affecting the two cases are different.
Title: Was the third defendant acquitted in the Carrom Board case?
Fact Check By: Pavithra Hansani
Result: Misleading
