The Parliamentary Bribery Commission (known as the ''Thalagodapitiya Commission'' ) was a commission of inquiry appointed by

Governor General of Ceylon The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. History There were four governors-general. ...

Sir Oliver Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ඔලිවර් ගුණතිලක) (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceyl ...

by warrant dated 11 September 1959 to investigate and inquire into allegations of bribery and corruption among the ruling party

members of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. The Commission consisted of Walter Thalgodapitiya, District Judge as chairmen; Thomas Webb Roberts, retired officer of the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

and Samuel John Charles Schokman,

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and former

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

. Appointed days before the Bandaranaike assassination, the commission tabled its report, titled ''The Reports of the Parliamentary Bribery Commission, 1959-1960'' in the

House of Representatives of Ceylon The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution. The House was housed in the old State Council building in Galle Face Green, Colombo and met for the ...

on 16 December 1960 and was published on 22 December 1960. The report found evidence of bribery against two former ministers C. A. S. Marikkar and M. P. de Zoysa, as well as parliamentarians

D. B. Monnekulame M. S. B. T. B. Dharmasena Bandara Monnekulame was a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Nationalised Services and Road Transport (1956-1959) and was a Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka), Member of Parlia ...

, H. Abeywickrema, M. S. Kariapper and R. E. Jayatillake. Monnekulame and Kariapper resigned soon after the publication of the report. The Sirima Bandaranaike government at the time did not take any action based on the report. In 1965, the new national government, led by the UNP revisited the report and enacted the ''Imposition Of Civic Disabilities (Special Provisions) Act (No. 14 of 1965)'' which stripped Marikkar, de Zoysa, Abeywickrema, Kariapper, Jayatilleke, and Monnekulame of their

civic rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

for a period of seven years and Kariapper who was a member of parliament at the time lost his seat.

External list

Commission To Investigate Allegations Of Bribery Or Corruption

Examining Facets of Corruption in Sri Lanka

References

{{reflist, 2 Sri Lankan commissions and inquiries Government reports Bribery scandals 1959 in Ceylon 1960 documents

See also

External list

References