Mohomed Nasurullah v. National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka – CA WRT/0329/19-2023

In Mohomed Nasurullah v. National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka and others, the legal issue concerned the validity of the National Film Corporation’s (NFC) directives, notifications, and contractual arrangements with private film distributors under the National Film Corporation Act. The court determined that the petitioner’s request for writs (certiorari, prohibition, mandamus) was rendered nugatory by a subsequent Cabinet decision and that contractual claims fell outside the ambit of writ jurisdiction. It was affirmed that, where subsequent executive acts supersede acts challenged by way of writ, and where statutory remedies exist for contractual disputes, writ relief will not be granted. The decision rested upon interpretation of Sections 5(d) and 57 of the NFC Act, emphasizing that futi