The Director General, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption vs Chandana Chithral Kariyawasam – CA HCC/149/20-2022

In the case between the Director General, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and Chandana Chithral Kariyawasam, the issue concerned the legal validity of a conviction and sentence imposed by the High Court of Colombo for alleged non-compliance with Section 11 of the Bribery Act, focusing on whether a directive from the full Commission was lawfully issued prior to instituting criminal proceedings. The court determined that without a valid directive issued by the Commission as a whole, the proceedings and subsequent conviction were fatally flawed, reaffirming the principle that statutory procedural requirements concerning the institution of prosecution are mandatory and jurisdictional. Evaluation of statutory provisions and relevant case law established t