The Court of Appeal has issued an interim injunction halting the implementation of a decision by the previous government’s Cabinet of Ministers to procure 750,000 electronic passports from two private companies without adhering to the proper procurement process.
The Court made this ruling after considering a writ petition filed by ‘Epic Lanka’ Pvt. Ltd., which claimed the e-passports were being purchased unlawfully. Court of Appeal Judge Mohammad Lafar Tahir reviewed the facts and determined that the acquisition of the e-passports violated government procurement regulations, leading to the issuance of the injunction.
The writ petition names several respondents, including the Minister of Public Security. The petitioner contends that on September 2nd, the Cabinet approved two private companies to supply five million e-passports, bypassing the required tender process. As part of this approval, 750,000 e-passports were set to be purchased.
Epic Lanka Pvt. Ltd. argues that this decision was made in clear violation of the law and requests that the court invalidate the Cabinet’s decision.
After reviewing the petition, the Court issued a restraining order preventing the execution of the Cabinet decision until October 1st, with the case set to be heard again on that date.
President’s Counsel Viran Koraya appeared on behalf of the petitioner company.
