Kodikara Arachchige Kusumawathi Vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0249/2019-2022

In the case between Kodikara Arachchige Kusumawathi (Claimant–Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Respondent–Respondent), the court addressed whether an appeal lies against a High Court order forfeiting to the State a vehicle, under Section 79 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, when the vehicle was owned by the appellant but used by her spouse to transport cannabis. It was held that no express statutory right of appeal exists against orders of forfeiture made under Section 79 or other provisions of the Ordinance. The findings reaffirmed the principle that the right of appeal is a creature of statute and can only be exercised where expressly provided by law. Reliance was placed on the statutory text and judicial precedents t