Orders to Bring Cases Against Diana Gamage to Court
Colombo, October 5, 2024 — Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne has ordered that the case against Diana Gamage, formerly known as Nayana Samanmali, be presented in court on November 4. Gamage, a former Minister of State, is accused of obtaining an identity card using a fraudulent birth certificate.
The charges against her state that she knowingly presented a fake birth certificate (No. 4658) in Panadura or Colombo to deceive officials at the Department of Registration of Persons in order to secure an identity card. The identity card was reportedly used between October 9 and December 1, 2004, to obtain passports from immigration.
The Attorney General has filed charges against Gamage under three indictments pertaining to sections 32, 102, 457, and 459 of the Penal Code as of June 6, 2024.
Key witnesses in the case include social activist Oshala Herath, who originally filed the complaint against Gamage, and the Deputy Immigration Controller. The Attorney General has presented several documents as evidence, including the disputed birth registration documents numbered 4683 and 4685, which were submitted to the People’s Registration Department on November 22, 2004, as well as two immigration permits.
During the hearing on October 4, it was noted that materials submitted to the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court regarding this allegation had not yet been transferred to the High Court.
