Nizar Mohammed Nizarthir vs Officer in Charge, Police Station, Pettah – CA PHC/APN/112/14-2022

In the case between Nizar Mohammed Nizarthir (2nd Respondent–Petitioner) and Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (Appellant–Respondent), along with the Officer in Charge, Pettah Police Station, and the Hon. Attorney General, the Court addressed whether the High Court’s order, which both enhanced a Magistrate’s sentence for dealing in counterfeit cigarettes and imposed both a fine and a term of imprisonment, contained a legal irregularity justifying the invocation of the revisionary jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal. It was held that Section 15(1) of the Tobacco Tax Act No 8 of 1999 (as amended) only allows for either a fine or imprisonment for such offences, not both, reaffirming the principle that sentencing discretion must adhere to clear statutory limitations. This decision relied on statutory