Rohan Godellawatte v. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation et al. – CA WRIT CASE NO.83/2016-2016

In the case between Rohan Godellawatte and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation among others, the court addressed whether relief under writ jurisdiction could be granted when an earlier Supreme Court petition regarding substantially the same cause of action had been dismissed. The application was found to lack new facts or legal developments that would warrant judicial intervention. It was held that writ jurisdiction, being discretionary, cannot be invoked when there is an absence of materially different circumstances from prior proceedings. The decision emphasized the established judicial principle that successive applications on identical grounds do not merit reconsideration in the absence of new material, and the application was accordingly dismissed.

Vijith K. Malalgoda, P.C. J (PICA) — The