The Court of Appeal has granted respondents, including the Commissioner General of Excise, time until October 2 to file objections in a writ petition seeking to prevent the use of rice and sugar as primary raw materials for beer production.

The petition was taken up before Justices R. Gurusinghe and A. Prem Shankar. President’s Counsels K. Kanageeswaran, Sumathi Dharmawardena, and Ali Sabry, appearing for several liquor manufacturing companies, requested additional time to submit objections, which the court allowed.

The petition was filed by a group of licensed liquor vendors, naming as respondents the Commissioner General of Excise and his officials, the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the Attorney General, and the Inspector General of Police.

Petitioners argued that Section 2 of the Excise Ordinance defines beer strictly as a fermented liquor made from malt, yet many manufacturers are now using rice and sugar as the main ingredients. 

They claimed this practice violates the law and undermines national economic interests, especially since the government provides substantial subsidies for rice cultivation.

They further contended that diverting rice into commercial industries such as beer production hampers Sri Lanka’s goal of self‑sufficiency in rice and has adverse effects on the economy. 

The petition also criticized the Sri Lanka Standards Institution for failing to update its standards framework to properly monitor liquor production quality.

Accordingly, the petitioners requested the court to issue an order preventing approval for rice and sugar to be used as primary raw materials in beer manufacturing. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal today resumed consideration of a writ petition filed by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeking an order to prevent his arrest and detention in relation to investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Rajapaksa appeared before court today (23) as the petition was taken up for further examination.

The matter had previously been considered on July 9 for the fourth day before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Rohantha Abeysooriya and Justice Sarath Dissanayake, when further proceedings were postponed until today. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal has delivered a ruling in favour of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), overturning a directive by the Right to Information (RTI) Commission that sought the disclosure of detailed transaction-level data on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) investments. 

According to a CBSL statement, the case arose from an RTI request submitted by Verité Research (Pvt) Ltd seeking information on EPF investments, including detailed information on government securities transactions such as purchase dates, yields, prices, and counterparties. 

While the Central Bank released certain general information, it refused to disclose transaction-level information on the basis that such information is commercially sensitive and falls within the statutory exemptions provided under Section 5(1) of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016 (RTI Act). 

The Court of Appeal overruled the decision of the RTI Commission, holding that the requested information falls within the exemption under Section 5(1)(d) of the RTI Act, which protects commercially confidential information where disclosure would harm a third party. 

The Court observed that releasing EPF transaction details could expose the Fund’s investment strategies, enabling market participants to anticipate and outmanoeuvre its bids in government securities auctions. The Court noted that this would place the EPF at a competitive disadvantage and potentially reduce returns, ultimately affecting millions of contributors to the Fund. 

Emphasising the Central Bank’s fiduciary duty to safeguard EPF assets, the Court held that disclosure of such sensitive financial information would undermine the Fund’s position in the market. 

It further noted that transparency in EPF operations is already ensured through statutory mechanisms, including annual reporting, audits by the Auditor General, and parliamentary oversight. 

On the question of public interest, the Court concluded that the respondent had failed to demonstrate that the benefits of disclosure would outweigh the potential harm to the EPF and its members. 

Accordingly, the Court held that the RTI Commission had exceeded its powers by ordering disclosure in circumstances where a valid statutory exemption applied. Accordingly, the Commission’s order dated 27th November 2018 was set aside, and the appeal was allowed. 

The CBSL states that the judgment affirms that while the RTI Act promotes transparency, commercially sensitive financial information held by public authorities may be lawfully withheld where disclosure would harm competitive interests and no overriding public interest is established. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal has upheld the death sentence imposed on a man convicted of possessing and trafficking 2.53 grams of heroin, dismissing his appeal against the High Court’s verdict.

The convict, Jayasingham Rajeev, also known as Sudakaran, was found guilty by the Colombo High Court for the possession and transportation of narcotics. He was subsequently sentenced to death.

Delivering the decision, a two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Shashi Mahendran and P. Kumaran Ratnam, affirmed the High Court’s ruling.

The case originated from a police raid conducted in the Madampitiya area in Colombo on March 17, 2014. During the operation, the accused was arrested while in possession of 2.53 grams of heroin.

Following the arrest, the Attorney General filed indictments against him in the Colombo High Court on charges of possessing and trafficking heroin. After a full trial, the High Court judge convicted the accused on all charges and handed down the death penalty.

Challenging this decision, Rajeev filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal. In his appeal, he argued that the High Court’s judgment was legally flawed. He contended that the trial judge had failed to consider material inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence and had not properly evaluated the legality of his arrest.

However, after reviewing the submissions from all parties, the Court of Appeal bench concluded that the High Court judge had correctly analyzed and evaluated the evidence. The bench stated that the verdict was legally sound and that they found no reason to intervene.

The Court of Appeal further held that the prosecution had successfully proven the charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the death sentence was confirmed. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal has issued a writ order against the Gampola Divisional Secretary, preventing any unauthorized interference or obstruction in the operations of Sri Lanka’s first cable car project, currently under construction in the Ambuluwawa area.

The court yesterday (07) also ordered the Divisional Secretary to pay Rs. 100,000 in legal costs to the petitioner.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Gihan Kulatunga in response to a writ petition filed by Amber Adventure (Pvt) Ltd, the company implementing the project.

In its petition, the company stated that all necessary approvals had been obtained from relevant government agencies to proceed with the project, yet the Gampola Divisional Secretary had obstructed its progress.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry argued that the project site falls entirely within the jurisdiction of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), and that the Divisional Secretary had no legal authority to intervene.

The petition further claimed that due to the unauthorized interference, the project could not be completed within the scheduled timeframe, prompting the company to seek a court order to prevent further disruption. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal on Tuesday (21) issued an interim injunction preventing Sundaralingam Kandipan from functioning as Mayor of the Vavuniya Urban Council and Parameswaran Karthipan from serving as Deputy Mayor.

This order was issued following the consideration of a writ petition submitted by two members of the Vavuniya Urban Council: Kandaiya Vijaya Kumar and Sivasubramaniam Premadas.

The order was delivered by the bench of Justices Rohantha Abeysuriya and Priyantha Fernando of the Court of Appeal.

According to the order, the interim injunction will remain in effect until the conclusion of the petition hearing. The court further directed that the petition be recalled on November 19.

The petition, filed through Attorney Manjula Balasuriya, states that the Mayor of Vavuniya was elected with 11 votes, while his opponent received 10 votes. It also notes that the individual appointed as Deputy Mayor received 11 votes, while his opponent secured 10 votes. 

The petition alleges that the elected Deputy Mayor resides outside the jurisdiction of the Urban Council. The petitioners argue that both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor did not receive a sufficient number of votes to legitimately hold their respective positions.

Accordingly, the petition claims that the individuals lack the legal qualifications to serve in those roles. It further requests a writ order to nullify their appointments, asserting that their assumption of office is unlawful. (Newswire)

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The Court of Appeal has dismissed a writ petition that was filed requesting to revoke the Parliamentary seat of Minister of Public Security, Ananda Wijepala. 

A judge-bench, consisting of the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mohammed Thahir Laffar, and Justice Sarath Dissanayake, announced the decision today. 

The petition was filed by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Administrative Secretary Renuka Perera over Wijepala’s appointment as the Chief of Staff of the President. (Newswire)

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Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali has granted permission to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to obtain information on six social media accounts that had spread false and defamatory information on the Court of Appeal and Court of Appeal Judge Balendran Shashi Mahendran.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate issued the order to the Internet Surveillance and Intelligence Unit of the CID yesterday.

The court issued this order after considering a request made by the CID to question the social media accounts, as part of investigations conducted into a complaint filed by Court of Appeal Judge Balendran Shashi Mahendran.

In his complaint, the judge states that false information has been posted on these social media accounts, deemed insulting to the Court of Appeal and him, following the acquittal of former MP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (Pillayan) in the case related to the murder of MP Joseph Pararajasingham.

The CID also informed the court that the judge had indicated in his complaint that photographs of himself wearing his official court attire had been published in this regard.

The investigating officers further told the court that the judge had revealed that the Court of Appeal Registrar had informed the CID in writing that the case in question was never called before him.

The investigating officers informed the court that in addition to that incident, the Court of Appeal judge has requested the CID to conduct a formal investigation into the matter, as the social media accounts have also published false information about his personal life.

The investigating officers have pointed out that preliminary investigations into the complaint have found that there appears to be an attempt to undermine the public’s trust in the judiciary. (Newswire)

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Former North-Central Province Chief Minister S.M. Ranjith and his former secretary Shanthini Chandrasena have filed petitions before the Court of Appeal against their sentence of 16 years of rigorous imprisonment for corruption charges. 

The appeal has been transferred to the Colombo High Court for presentation before the Court of Appeal.

In the appeal petition, the petitioners claim that the High Court judge had not taken up for consideration the facts they presented during the relevant trial when announcing his decision.

Accordingly, they have requested the Court of Appeal to acquit them of the relevant charges.

The Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced S.M. Ranjith and Shanthini Chandrasena each to 16 years of rigorous imprisonment for corruption charges brought by the Bribery Commission.

S.M. Ranjith, while serving as the North Central Province Chief Minister, is accused of making arrangements to allocate fuel for the official vehicle of his private secretary Shanthini Chandrasena, despite her fuel allowance being already added to her salary.

S.M. Ranjith is the brother of former Minister S.M. Chandrasena, while Shanthini is Chandrasena’s wife. She served as the private secretary to Ranjith during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2012 to 2014.

The Bribery Commission filed a case against Shanthini Chandrasena for allegedly obtaining fuel worth Rs. 2,680,528 and Rs. 5,379,623 through vouchers during this period.

Both she and Ranjith have also been charged with influencing provincial councilors to release two additional vehicles, in addition to the Chief Minister’s two official cars and security vehicle. (Newswire)

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Two newly appointed Court of Appeal Justices were formally sworn in before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake this morning (Jan 09).

According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), the appointments were conferred upon Attorneys-at-Law Mr. K.M.S. Dissanayake and Mr. R.P. Hettiarachchi.

The two newly appointed Court of Appeal Justices took their oaths in the presence of the President at the Presidential Secretariat. (Newswire) 

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The Court of Appeal has issued an interim order suspending the former Cabinet’s decision to purchase 750,000 N-Series passports to resolve the shortage of passports in Sri Lanka, NewsFirst reported. 

At its meeting held in September 2024, the former Cabinet approved the purchase of 750,000 N-Series passports from Thales DIS Finland OY and Just In Time Technologies (Pvt) Ltd as part of the initial procurement for the supply of five million e-Passports.

However, the decision was challenged by a writ petition filed by Epic Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and its Executive Chairman alleging that it is a corrupt deal that violates the tender procedure.

In its petition, Epic Lanka (Pvt) Ltd pointed out that the deal bypassed the National Procurement Guidelines, was outside of the proper procurement procedure, and that the National Procurement Commission has also acknowledged in writing that the procurement had irregularities. 

The Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, former Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, the former Cabinet of Ministers and several others have been named as respondents.

Taking up for consideration the petition, Court of Appeal Justice Mohammed Laffar yesterday issued an interim order suspending the decision to purchase 750,000 N-Series passports, with the order effective until 01 October 2024. (Newswire)

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The President of the Court of Appeal Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne has recused himself from hearing the motion filed by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe to revoke the stay order against the recently appointed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Interim Committee.

The Judge recused himself after the petition filed by the Sports Minister was taken up for consideration today (Nov 14) before the two-judge bench, consisting of him and Justice Vikum Kaluarachchi.

During the hearing, the lawyer representing the Sports Minister had objected to Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne hearing the petition.

Responding to the objection, Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne stated that he had decided to withdraw from this trial due to the unfair criticism of him by the Sports Minister, some members of the Cabinet members, and some Parliamentarians recently.

Therefore, the petition has been moved to another court to be heard before another judge of the Court of Appeal. (NewsWire)

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