Mohamed Caseem Mohamd Najeem vs Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, Hon. Prime Minister cum Hon. Minister of Finance, Economy and Policy Development – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 429/2020-2020

In the case between Mohamed Caseem Mohamd Najeem, carrying on a partnership business as Sana Lanka Trading (Petitioner), and among others, Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister cum Minister of Finance, and S.R. Attygalla, Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether writs of Certiorari, Prohibition, and Mandamus should be issued under Article 140 of the Constitution in relation to governmental decisions affecting the petitioner’s business. It was held that the present application should be dismissed, as the matter had already been adjudicated in a related application (CA [Writ] 423/2020) where the same legal issues were determined and the application was dismissed without costs. The principle reaffirmed was that judicial economy and consiste