Vidanapathiranage Dhammika v. A.B Mauri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd – CA PHC/238/2018-2018

In the case between Vidanapathiranage Dhammika (Authorized Officer under the Food Act and Public Health Inspector at Makadura) and A.B Mauri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., the court addressed the issue of whether a charge sheet framed solely under Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 1376/9 (2005), without reference to the subsequent Gazette Notification No. 1795/51 (2013), satisfied constitutional and procedural legal requirements. It was held that the charge sheet was defective and failed to comply with the constitutional safeguard against retrospective application under Article 13(6) of the Constitution, as well as the requirements of section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The orders of the High Court of Matara and the Magistrate Court of Deiyandara were set aside, reaffirming the principl