The Court of Appeal has postponed its decision on the petition filed by Keheliya Rambukwella, which seeks to overturn the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court’s order to remand him until the end of his trial for allegedly importing substandard medicine.
Originally, the decision was expected today (09), but the Appeals Court judge bench, consisting of the President of the Court of Appeal, Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, and Justice Shashi Mahendran, has rescheduled the decision on whether to grant leave to proceed with the petition to September 4, 2024.
Rambukwella was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on February 2, 2024, over allegations of his involvement in the procurement of substandard IVIG vials. His arrest followed intense pressure from civil society activists and health sector trade unions, who demanded his immediate detention.
In October 2023, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) disclosed that forged documents were used to obtain Customs clearance for a batch of human immunoglobulin vials, an antibody produced by blood plasma cells, which subsequently failed quality tests.
