Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration Act 1981 · As enacted · Part IV · General
20. Offences
Feedback & supportOfficial English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Any person who—
fails without reasonable cause, to appear before the
Ombudsman at the time and place mentioned in a summons served under this Act
;
refuses to be sworn or affirmed or, having been duly sworn or affirmed, refuses or fails without reason-able cause to answer any question put to him touching the matters being investigated by the
Ombudsman
;
refuses or fails without reasonable cause to produce and show to the Ombudsman any document or other thing which is in his possession or control and which he had been requested to produce for the purposes of the investigation
;
wilfully makes any false statement to the Ombuds-man or any other officer on his staff for the pur-poses of an investigation under this Act;
.v) obstructs without reasonable cause, the Ombudsman or any other officer on his staff, in the exercise of his duties and functions under this Act;
acts in contravention of the duty to maintain secrecy under this Act;
intentionally offers any insult or causes any inter-ruption to the Ombudsman while the Ombudsman is making any investigation or conducting any inquiry under this Act; or
by words spoken or intended to be read, makes or publishes any statement or does any other act, which is.caleulated to bring the Ombudsman into disrepute, shall be guilty of 2 offence and shall, on conviction by the
High Court after a trial without jury, be liable to imprison-ment of either description for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding five thousand rupees, or to both such imprisonment and such fine.
In a prosecution for an offence referred to in paragraph (i) or paragraph (ii) or paragraph (iii) or paragraph (v) of subsection (1), a certificate under the hand of the Ombudsman to the effect that any person has
Parliamentary Commissioner
:for Administration failed without reasonable cause. to appear before the
Ombudsman at the time and place mentioned in. the summons served on such person, or has failed or refused without reasonable cause to answer any question put to him touching the matters being investigated by the Ombudsman, or has refused or failed without reasonable cause to produce and show to the Ombudsman any document or other thing which is in his possession or control and which he has been required to produce for the purposes of the investigation made by the Ombudsman, or has obstructed without reasonable cause the Ombudsman or any other officer or servant of his staff, in the exercise of his powers or the performance and discharge of his duties and functions under this Act, shall be received in evidence as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
In this section and in section 21, the expression
“Ombudsman” includes a Deputy Ombudsman.