The initial objections put forward by the lawyers of former minister and MP Johnston Fernando, and three others, were rejected by the Colombo Chief Magistrate, Ranasinghe Bandara, today.

The case was filed by the Bribery Commission with regard to corruption charges levelled at former minister Fernando, former Sathosa Chairman Eraj Fernando and former Operational Director Mohamed Mohideen Shakir.

The accused are alleged to have re-tasked 153 Sathosa employees and used them for political work for five years from 2010 to 2014, causing a loss of Rs. 40 million in the given period. The commission has requested permission from the court to present the two charge sheets separately.

The court granted permission for the Commission to present the sheets separately.