Maskeliya Plantations PLC vs Sri Lanka Tea Board – CA WRIT 337/2020-2024

In the case between Maskeliya Plantations PLC (owner of the Craig Estate Tea Factory) and the Sri Lanka Tea Board (with officials including Jayampathy Molligoda, Anura Siriwardena, and E. A. J. K. Edirisinghe), the court addressed the legality of the Sri Lanka Tea Board’s cancellation of the Craig Estate Tea Factory’s registration. It was held that the cancellation was vitiated by both procedural and substantive deficiencies, particularly breaching principles of natural justice. The court reaffirmed that statutory authorities must conduct disciplinary or punitive actions with fairness, transparency, and adherence to procedural safeguards, especially when the right to conduct business is curtailed. Reliance was placed on established administrative law principles and the Tea Control Act, hig