Ekanayake Mudiyanselage Aruna Bandara Ekanayake vs Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption – CA HCC/0360/2019-2022

In the case between the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and Ekanayake Mudiyanselage Aruna Bandara Ekanayake, the court addressed whether the appellant’s conviction for soliciting and accepting bribes complied with fundamental requirements for fairness and evidentiary caution. It was held that the trial judge did not improperly consider potentially prejudicial evidence, such as job application files, and maintained objectivity in the evaluation of material facts, reaffirming the principle that a fair trial requires careful separation of background and substantive evidence. The decision relied on the Bribery Act (Sections 20(a)iv, 20(b), and 19(c)), emphasizing that a conviction should not be overturned where the trial judge’s findings and assessment o