S.P. Morawaka v. Commissioner General of Labour et al. – SC SPL.LA.NO.160/2018-2018

In the case between S.P. Morawaka, Liquidator of Janatha Fertilizer Enterprise Limited, and D.K. Wijesundara along with several Labour Department officials, the court addressed the issue of whether the Court of Appeal erred in interpreting a Commissioner of Labour order (document P21), which directed the liquidator to pay a gratuity sum. The court held that the liquidator was statutorily bound to comply with the Commissioner’s direction, and the prior quashing of this order by the Court of Appeal was legally incorrect. The principle reaffirmed is that, under the Employees’ Provident Fund Act and relevant labour statutes, a liquidator is deemed the employer during liquidation and is responsible for statutory payments. This decision relied on statutory interpretation and administrative law p