Blue Ocean Reality (Private) Limited vs. People’s Bank and others. – CA WRIT/228/2022-2022

In the case between Blue Ocean Reality (Private) Limited (petitioner) and People’s Bank, E. S. Ramanayake (Specialist Licensed Auctioneer), and the Board of Directors of People’s Bank (respondents), the court considered whether the Court of Appeal possessed jurisdiction to issue a writ of prohibition preventing People’s Bank from conducting a statutory auction of mortgaged property under Section 29D of the People’s Bank Act. The central issues related to the effect of the statutory ouster clause in Section 29D, the characterization of the parties’ relationship as either purely contractual or involving public law elements, the impact of rescheduling and partial payments on default status, and the relevance of Central Bank COVID-19 relief circulars. It was determined that ouster clauses do n