Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe appears before court

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appeared at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today for a scheduled hearing, according to an Ada Derana reporter. The case against him, filed under the Public Property Act, will be discussed again in this court. The allegations state that Wickremesinghe misused government money to travel to the United Kingdom in 2023. He attended a ceremony at a British university honoring his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, while he was still in office. Wickremesinghe was arrested on August 22, 2025, after he visited the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to give a statement. He was then brought to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court and kept in custody until August 26, 2025. At that hearing, after reviewing medical reports provided for him, Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura granted his release on three surety bails of Rs. 5 million each, and the case was set to be reviewed today. On October 29, 2025, when the case was brought up again, the hearing was postponed until today. Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara directed the CID to speed up their investigation into Wickremesinghe and to present any related suspects to the court if there were any. Magistrate Neththikumara also ordered that the investigation into the case against Wickremesinghe be finished by today. During the hearing, the complainant asked for Wickremesinghe's bail to be revoked, but Magistrate Neththikumara clarified that he would not reconsider the previous bail order made by the former magistrate.