When a senior state lawyer who has been pressing military intelligence officers over the Easter Sunday attacks is suddenly said to have lost his licence over a bribe, the story is bound to travel fast. That is exactly what happened to Additional Solicitor General and President\u2019s Counsel Dileepa Peiris, with social media posts claiming that his Attorney-at-Law status had been cancelled after he allegedly acted out of greed for a payment of Rs. 7 million (seventy lakhs). We investigated. Here is what we found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social Media Posts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook<\/a> | Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact-Check<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If the Attorney-at-Law status of Additional Solicitor General and President\u2019s Counsel Dileepa Peiris had been removed, it would have been a major story reported widely by mainstream media. No such report was found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorney General\u2019s Department<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We contacted a reliable source in the Attorney General\u2019s Department, who confirmed that President\u2019s Counsel Dileepa Peiris has not been removed from his position as an Attorney-at-Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bar Association of Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bar Association of Sri Lanka said that both the admission and the removal of an Attorney-at-Law are carried out by the Supreme Court. Any decision to remove Dileepa Peiris from the profession would therefore have to be made by the Supreme Court, and the Association said it had not been informed of any such decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President\u2019s Counsel Saliya Peiris<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We also contacted the former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, President\u2019s Counsel Saliya Peiris, to verify the matter further. He too confirmed that the reports claiming Dileepa Peiris\u2019s Attorney-at-Law status had been cancelled are false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How the \u201cSeventy Lakhs\u201d Claim Began<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During a court proceeding, Mr. Udaya Gammanpila alleged that Dileepa Peiris had referred to the medals won by Lieutenant Shantha Jayathilake, a distinguished war hero who had earned seven of the highest military decorations, including the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya and the Rana Wickrama Padakkama, during the three-decade war – as \u201cpieces of metal plate,\u201d insulting them. Lieutenant Shantha Jayathilake\u2019s comments to the media can be seen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a later press conference, Mr. Gammanpila criticised Dileepa Peiris directly. He said that after Cyclone Ditwah, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had told Parliament that Rs. 1 million (ten lakhs) would be given to those whose roofs had been blown away. Since Shantha Jayathilake\u2019s uniform bore seven \u201cplates,\u201d Gammanpila suggested there was a suspicion that Dileepa Peiris had insulted war heroes out of a desire to obtain Rs. 1 million per plate, Rs. 7 million (seventy lakhs) in total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-53.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n