Ceylon Tobacco Co., Ltd. v. Illangasinghe, J., President, Labour Tribunal and Others – sllr 1986 volume 1 page 001

In the case between Ceylon Tobacco Co., Ltd. and J. Illangasinghe, President, Labour Tribunal, the court addressed whether section 31B(5) of the Industrial Disputes Act prohibits a workman from seeking relief under that Act after having initially pursued another statutory legal remedy—in this instance, under the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act No. 45 of 1971. The court held that once statutory relief has been sought under one legislative scheme, the workman is precluded from obtaining further remedy for the same matter under the Industrial Disputes Act. This holding reaffirmed the principle that recourse to one statutory remedy forecloses further relief under a parallel statutory jurisdiction. The decision was grounded in a contextual interpretation of the phr