Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC vs Hon. Maithripala Sirisena – CA APPLICATION NO.336/2012-2013

The case between Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC and Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, and others addressed the issue of whether Regulation No.1 of 2012, concerning mandatory pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packaging, was ultra vires Section 34 of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act No. 27 of 2006, and whether compliance with the Regulation was feasible or legally required. It was held that an interim stay of the Regulation was unwarranted, reaffirming the principle that interim relief is not granted unless there is a substantial risk that the final remedy will be rendered nugatory or irreparable harm would result. This decision relied on established standards for interim orders, emphasizing that regulatory amendments and clarifications had mitigated conc