-By LeN Political Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News - 24.Sep.2025, 11.20 PM) The Supreme Court yesterday (23) handed down a three-year prison term, with hard labour, to former Controller of Immigration and Emigration Harsha Ilukpitiya, after he admitted to contempt of court by failing to comply with a court order.
Taking into account the year he has already spent in remand, the sentence will in practice amount to two more years in prison. Delivering the judgment, Justice Yasantha Kodagoda, with the concurrence of Justices Janak de Silva and Arjuna Obeyesekere, described the ruling as a “lesson to remember” for all public officials tempted to ignore the authority of the Court.
Ilukpitiya initially denied the contempt charge, only to later withdraw his plea and admit guilt. The bench observed that this manoeuvre appeared calculated – first proclaiming innocence, then shifting stance once evidence was presented. Justice Kodagoda reminded court that contempt carries a maximum of seven years’ imprisonment.
The case, however, was never solely about Ilukpitiya. He was widely seen as carrying out the wishes of his then minister, Tiran Alles, the controversial Public Security Minister in the Ranil–Rajapaksa administration. Ilukpitiya became the second state official to “eat the lentils” on behalf of Alles, the first being the former IGP, Deshabandu Tennakoon.
The scandal traces back to a decision under Alles’s ministry. Previously, tourists applying online for Sri Lankan visas paid just $1 through state-owned Mobitel. Alles pushed through a Cabinet paper handing this function to three private firms—VFS Global, GBS, and IVS Global FZCO—without tender. Overnight, the cost to applicants soared to $60.
Critics decried it as blatant corruption. The new arrangement allegedly yielded around $3 billion annually for VFS Global, with hefty commissions channelled to Alles, ministry secretary Viyani Gunathilaka, and Ilukpitiya.
The backlash was fierce. MPs M.A. Sumanthiran, Rauff Hakeem, and Champika Ranawaka challenged the scheme at the Supreme Court, which on 2 August 2024 issued an interim order suspending the new visa system and instructing Ilukpitiya to revert to the old one.
Instead, he defied the order—reportedly under Alles’s pressure and, according to unofficial accounts, due to a VFS Global promise of $50 million towards Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidential campaign.
The defiance led the Attorney-General to file contempt proceedings against Ilukpitiya under the new 2024 Contempt of Court Act (No. 8). He was remanded from 25 September 2024 until yesterday’s ruling.
Justice Kodagoda stressed that the verdict should serve as a stark reminder to public servants who bow to political pressure at the expense of legality.
Yet, the judgement leaves an uneasy aftertaste. While Ilukpitiya sits in prison, Alles—the architect of the scheme—remains untouched.
-By LeN Political Correspondent
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by (2025-09-24 18:07:01)
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