Vignan Educational Foundation (Pvt.) Ltd. vs. Board of Investment of Sri Lanka – CA 1696/2006-2006

In the case of Vignan Educational Foundation (Pvt.) Ltd. and Hitihamilage Don Oshala Lakmal Anil Herath (Director, Vignan Educational Foundation) versus the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala (Chairman, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka), the court addressed whether the Board of Investment’s decision to suspend the petitioner from conducting pre-clinical medical degree lectures pursuant to a contractual agreement was lawful, and whether such a dispute—arising from contract—could give rise to writ jurisdiction. The holding established that the core dispute was contractual and not amenable to writ relief, especially given the existence of alternative remedies such as arbitration stipulated in the contract. The principle reaffirmed is that writ jurisdiction is not