Subramaniam Kanthakaran vs D. G. M. V. Hapuarachchi – CA WRIT APPLICATION: 172/2013-2013

In the case between Subramaniam Kanthakaran and D. G. M. V. Hapuarachchi, Commissioner-General of Excise, Excise Department of Sri Lanka, and others, the court addressed the issue of whether a petitioner whose own liquor licence was suspended and virtually cancelled, and who had not alleged direct or public interest harm, was entitled to a Writ of Certiorari to quash the decision to issue a liquor licence to another party. The court held that such an application was inappropriate where the petitioner had not demonstrated a personal or public right affected by the impugned decision, reaffirming the principle that standing, or locus standi, is a prerequisite for seeking judicial review. This decision relied on established administrative law principles, emphasizing that judicial intervention