Dialog Telecom PLC v. Sarath Jayathilake, Director General of Customs – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 464/2008-2016

The case between Dialog Telecom PLC (petitioner) and Sarath Jayathilake, Director General of Customs, and another (respondents), addressed the issue of whether discretionary writ remedies of certiorari and prohibition were available to challenge a Customs order imposing a mitigated forfeiture, in light of the petitioner’s concurrent pursuit of an alternative statutory remedy under section 154 of the Customs Ordinance. It was held that the existence and utilization of such a statutory remedy generally precludes recourse to writ jurisdiction unless exceptional circumstances are demonstrated. Relying on established legal principles and Sri Lankan case law, it was emphasized that parallel or duplicative legal proceedings are impermissible in the absence of extraordinary justification, reinforc