Ashoka Padma Priya Kuruppu v. John Silvester Horashiyo Joshuwa – CA PCH 56/2011-2011

In the case between Ashoka Padma Priya Kuruppu and John Silvester Horashiyo Joshuwa, the court addressed whether the Primary Court could summon the Petitioner-Respondent-Appellant (Kuruppu) for contempt arising from alleged misrepresentations in affidavits, given an existing indictment in the High Court concerning the same conduct. It was held that the jurisdiction of the Primary Court is ousted once an indictment on the same facts is pending in the High Court, reaffirming the principle that parallel proceedings for the same offence cannot be maintained in separate courts. Reliance was placed on principles such as “double jeopardy” and “res judicata,” with the court emphasizing that the continuation of proceedings in the Primary Court would be legally impermissible when the alleged contemp