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The Court of Appeal granted an interim order staying the cancellation of the liquor licence and sealing of a pub and restaurant operating in the Borella area.
The petitioner Checkers Hotel (Pvt) Ltd., of Castle Street, Colombo 8, filed a fundamental rights petition citing Excise Commissioner Parakrama Ekanayake Bandara, Assistant Commissioner of Excise, Western Province T Wasantha Kumara, Superintendent of Excise(Colombo), R.M. Rathnayake Bandara, O.I.C Excise Station (Colombo City) C.J.A Weerakkody, Commissioner of Excise (Revenue) S.Sivanandan, Divisional Secretary M.B.M. Somaratne, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, the Director General, Tourist Board and C.G. Illangakoon and D.N.Illangakoon of Colombo 8 as respondents.

The petitioner said on August 7 2004, the hotel owners signed an agreement with Messrs. C.G. Illangakoon and D.N. Illangakoon to lease the ground floor of their building to operate “Checkers Hotel (Pvt) Ltd. The hotel owners had spent Rs 10,000,000 to refurbish and renovate the premises to bring it to a standard for approval by the Tourist Board.

The petitioner said that after a few months in operation the Ilangakoons offered to lease out the other two floors of the building to the petitioner, which offer was declined.

The petitioner said that after this refusal the owners of the building started to create unnecessary trouble with the staff and those who patronised the hotel.
The petitioner claimed that on one occasion Excise officers had charged the hotel for selling liquor after the stipulated hours and the fine paid by the petitioner.

The petitioner said that when the liquor licence for 2006 was applied for it was issued after a delay of about three months.

The petitioner said that after the liquor licence was issued around March 2006, Excise Department officers arrived at the premises and sealed the liquor bar and took into their procession the liquor licence.

The petitioner said decision to withdraw the liquor licence was without statutory or legal sanction, arbitrary, capracious, ultra vires and unreasonable and/or unfair and was hence illegal, unlawful null and void and of no force or avail in law.

The Bench comprising Justices K.Sripavan and Sisira de Abrew came to the conclusion that the Excise Commissioner’s cancellation of the licence was not an order by him but merely an intimation of an order passed and made by another person. Therefore the court has no alternative but to issue an interim order staying the sealing of the pub until the final determination of the case.

Attorney Sanjeewa Jayawardena with Senani Dayaratne appeared for the petitioner.

Milinda Gunathilaka, Senior State Counsel appeared for the Excise officials.
Gunathilaka Gunawardena appeared for the Illangakoons.