Nagarajah and Others V Rajadurai and Others – sllr 2003 volume 3 page 339

The case between Nagarajah and others and Rajadurai and others addressed the issue of whether a judgment written after a Court of Appeal stay order is legally valid. It was held that such a judgment is ultra vires and illegal, reaffirming the principle that any order of a superior court, such as a stay order, must be strictly complied with by subordinate courts. This decision relied on Civil Procedure Code section 186A and relevant case law including Waseela Umma v Sally, Edward v Os Silva, Attorney-General v Sillem, and The Queen v Gnanaseeha Thero and others, emphasizing that judicial acts performed in contravention of a higher court’s stay order lack legal force and cannot be validated.

Gamini Amaratunga J. — The findings established that a trial court is bound by stay orders issued b