By Roy Denish.
A complaint over X-Press Pearl compensation asks CIABOC to investigate three Supreme Court judges over alleged failures to recover damages.
A formal written complaint has been submitted to the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) by Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, President of the Medical and Civil Rights Doctors’ Association.
The filing requests an independent inquiry under the Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023 into three Supreme Court judges, alleging that their judicial actions resulted in the failure to recover nearly US$999 million in compensation from the X-Press Pearl shipping company and its local representatives.
The complaint asserts that this conduct may constitute an act of corruption involving the misuse of public office under Section 111 of the Act. It also questions whether the unrecovered funds are connected to the implementation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, a matter Dr. Sanjeewa has separately challenged in a petition before the Supreme Court.
The allegations centre on previous fundamental rights rulings (SC/FR/168/2021, SC/FR/176/2021, SC/FR/184/2021, and SC/FR/277/2021), in which a five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice ordered the shipping company and its agents to pay US$250 million by September 24, 2025.
According to the complaint, only US$1 million of that court-ordered amount was remitted, leaving approximately US$249 million outstanding. Despite requests by the petitioners for contempt of court action over the alleged non-compliance, the three named judges allegedly refrained from taking such action against the company.
The filing further details alleged procedural irregularities, noting that Justice Yasantha Kodagoda, the senior-most judge on the previous bench who was involved in drafting the judgment, was removed from the case without a valid legal rationale.
Subsequently, when the case was heard on January 26, 2026, before a reconstituted three-member bench comprising the judges named in the complaint, the bench ordered the termination of proceedings in a manner that Dr. Sanjeewa claims was contrary to established judicial practice.
Dr. Sanjeewa alleges that this order effectively prevented the recovery of roughly US$999 million in total potential damages and disrupted the court-appointed Compensation Management Commission, which formally notified the petitioners on March 6, 2026, that it could no longer continue its work.
In light of these claims, the complaint calls for a credible investigation, appropriate legal action should wrongdoing be established, and progress updates in accordance with Section 44 of the Act.
The assertions detailed in the complaint remain unverified allegations, and no findings of guilt or wrongdoing have been established against the judges.
