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Court of Appeal summons CMC Commissioner, CMO for alleged contempt of court
View(s):Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Commissioner V.K. Anura and its Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni have been summoned before the Court of Appeal on June 24, on contempt of Court charges. The summons were in response to a petition filed by Dr. Anna Kariyawasm, alleging violation of a settlement reached in court, between the petitioner and the respondents, on July 14, 2015.
According to the petition, the parties had agreed on 14.07.2015 that the petitioner would be entitled to discharge her functions in keeping with the Food Hygiene Regulations of 2011. Dr. Kariyawasam had been earlier interdicted by the CMC Commissioner on March 13, 2015, with immediate effect, for working in a private capacity in hotels and restaurants. She however, challenged the interdiction and informed Court that the revenue from all private tests went to the CMC and, at the time of her interdiction, she was collecting blood, urine and stool samples from the staff of the Galadari Hotel, after obtaining verbal approval from the Mayor.
The Court of Appeal issued an interim stay order in the operation and effect of the letter sent to Dr. Kariyawasam by the CMC Commissioner on March 13, including the conducting of a preliminary investigation against her, until the final determination of the case. The parties subsequently reached a settlement in court in July 2015.
In her subsequent petition, Dr. Kariyawasam pointed out that, in terms of the said settlement, she and her subordinate officers are entitled to carry out food handlers investigations even during working hours. Despite this, no orders had been given to the Medical Officers of Health (MoH)s to direct food handlers from hotels or send food and water samples for laboratory investigations.
However, the 1st and 2nd respondents have unofficially circumvented the settlement, particularly the 1st respondent, allegedly telling the doctors there was no need for the medical examinations. However, under the Food Act’s Food Hygiene Regulations of 2011, food handlers are supposed to be certified by the area MoH that they are free of communicable diseases, consequent upon appropriate laboratory tests done, the petition states.
When the case was taken up for hearing on Thursday, the Court of Appeal issued a decree nisi and summons to the respondents to appear before court on June 24, to answer the charges of Contempt of Court.
Senior Counsel Upul Jayasuriya appeared for the petitioner.