R.K. Alwis Karunarathna v. M.F.M. Maharoof Medical Centre – CA PHC 85/06-2018

In the case between R.K. Alwis Karunarathna, Food and Drug Inspector; Hon. Attorney General (Petitioners) and M.F.M. Maharoof, Medical Centre, Kekirawa (Respondent), the court addressed whether a Food and Drug Inspector possessed statutory authority under the Cosmetics, Devices and Drugs Act No. 27 of 1980 to inspect ayurvedic dispensaries, or whether such powers had been limited by a government circular. The court held that statutory powers conferred by legislation cannot be altered or restricted by administrative circulars, reaffirming the principle that legislative supremacy governs statutory authority. The decision relied on relevant statutory provisions, case law on exceptional circumstances in revision applications, and legal precedent concerning the effect of procedural defects and