The Presidential Secretariat has refuted reports that a person serving a term for financial fraud had been given a presidential pardon.
In a statement, it said it has taken note of reports claiming that an individual named W.H. Athula Tilakaratne, who had been serving a sentence at the Anuradhapura Prison, was released under the Presidential Pardon granted on the occasion of Vesak 2025, and that a serious irregularity may have occurred in connection with this incident.
As per the Article 34 (1) of the Constitution, the Head of State is vested with the authority to grant a pardon to convicted prisoners.
Under this Constitutional provision, the names of eligible inmates are selected by prison authorities and submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
After a review by the Ministry, the final list is forwarded to the Presidential Secretariat for approval by the President.
However, in relation to the above incident, the official list of 388 inmates recommended for pardon submitted by the Commissioner General of Prisons to the Presidential Secretariat under reference number 06/01/Proposal/Pres.Pardon/List/05-12/2025 dated May 6, 2025 does not include the name of the individual in question, who had been convicted in connection with a financial fraud case at Anuradhapura Prison.
Accordingly, this individual was not among those approved by the President to receive a pardon.
In response to this, the Presidential Secretariat officially submitted a complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department yesterday (06), under the title “Release of a Prisoner Without Presidential Approval Under the Presidential Pardon”, requesting a special investigation into the matter.
A formal inquiry will be conducted and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against any responsible officials found to have been involved in this unauthorized release, it said.
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