<p>Colombo: Investigations revealed that convicts ineligible for presidential pardon have been illegally released in the past, Sri Lankan police said on Sunday.</p>.<p>Article 34 (1) of the Sri Lankan Constitution says the president can pardon convicted prisoners. A list of inmates recommended for pardon is forwarded for approval by the president after a review by the Ministry of Justice.</p>.<p>The police in a statement said it would investigate all such officers, including prison officials, who abused the power of presidential pardon of convicts by unscrupulously releasing the undeserved.</p>.<p>Investigations so far revealed there had been actions in the past that convicts ineligible for releases under presidential amnesty had been released illegally, the statement said.</p>.<p>“The crime investigation department has commenced investigations into previous releases of convicts illegally," the statement said.</p>.<p>It comes as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Saturday ordered a police probe into the release from prison of a convicted criminal under a purported pardon from him.</p>.<p>The Presidential Secretariat said a serious irregularity may have occurred as the list of those to be pardoned did not include the name of W.H. Athula Tilakaratne, who was released under the presidential pardon granted on Vesak 2025, despite his name not being among 388 inmates recommended for amnesty.</p>.<p>The opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in parliament raised the matter on Friday, saying the convict was granted a presidential pardon under dubious circumstances.</p>.<p>Commenting on the fraudulent release of the convict, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala said the convict had been released outside the list of inmates approved by the president.</p>.<p>The Commissioner General of Prisons was questioned by the CID for over five hours on Sunday over the incident, the police said, adding the official would be questioned again.</p>.<p>In 2023 and 2024, the courts ruled that Dissnayake's predecessors, Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had erred in cases of presidential pardons during their terms.</p>.<p>The highest court had ordered the reversal of such pardons.</p>
<p>Colombo: Investigations revealed that convicts ineligible for presidential pardon have been illegally released in the past, Sri Lankan police said on Sunday.</p>.<p>Article 34 (1) of the Sri Lankan Constitution says the president can pardon convicted prisoners. A list of inmates recommended for pardon is forwarded for approval by the president after a review by the Ministry of Justice.</p>.<p>The police in a statement said it would investigate all such officers, including prison officials, who abused the power of presidential pardon of convicts by unscrupulously releasing the undeserved.</p>.<p>Investigations so far revealed there had been actions in the past that convicts ineligible for releases under presidential amnesty had been released illegally, the statement said.</p>.<p>“The crime investigation department has commenced investigations into previous releases of convicts illegally," the statement said.</p>.<p>It comes as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Saturday ordered a police probe into the release from prison of a convicted criminal under a purported pardon from him.</p>.<p>The Presidential Secretariat said a serious irregularity may have occurred as the list of those to be pardoned did not include the name of W.H. Athula Tilakaratne, who was released under the presidential pardon granted on Vesak 2025, despite his name not being among 388 inmates recommended for amnesty.</p>.<p>The opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in parliament raised the matter on Friday, saying the convict was granted a presidential pardon under dubious circumstances.</p>.<p>Commenting on the fraudulent release of the convict, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala said the convict had been released outside the list of inmates approved by the president.</p>.<p>The Commissioner General of Prisons was questioned by the CID for over five hours on Sunday over the incident, the police said, adding the official would be questioned again.</p>.<p>In 2023 and 2024, the courts ruled that Dissnayake's predecessors, Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had erred in cases of presidential pardons during their terms.</p>.<p>The highest court had ordered the reversal of such pardons.</p>